Shards of the Harvest
by patrickdiomedes
Summary: The people of Scadrial have reached the stars. But they are not alone, and there are monsters that wait in the dark spaces. [A fusion with the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson]
1. Chapter 1: Elendel Prime

"Well, what about Shepard? She grew up in the colonies." Udina asked, flicking through the files on his computer's screen. From Anderson's end, all he could see was the ambassador moving his finger back and forth in thin air, as the screen didn't show up on the holo-projection.

"Perhaps," said the third member of the conference call. "But can she handle that kind of pressure? I'm not entirely convinced she's recovered from what happened on Akuze. Seeing your whole unit get slaughtered…that leaves serious emotional scars."

"Every soldier has scars, Hackett. Shepard's a survivor." Anderson said. "But I'm concerned you might be recommending her for the wrong reasons. You were the one who found her in the wreckage on Mindoir."

Udina snorted. "You know me better than that, Anderson. I'm recommending her because she's a damn good soldier, and a damn good person besides."

"And that's what humanity needs. What the galaxy needs." Hackett said, nodding in agreement.

"I'll make the call." Udina said, reaching for the comm button. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things to attend to. Udina out." The ambassador's projection vanished from the comm room.

Despite being light years away on Arcturus station, Admiral Hackett locked eyes with Anderson for a moment. "Humanity needs this, Anderson. We can't afford any mistakes. Not like—."

"I know. I'll do everything I can."

"We all will," said Nihlus, who had been standing at the back of the room. "Your species is moving quickly, and you need to be able to stand on _somewhat_ equal footing with the other Council races. This is the first step towards that."

"Good. Hackett out." Hackett's projection winked out, leaving Anderson and Nihlus alone in the comm room.

"You actually believe that?" Anderson asked, raising an eyebrow at the turian.

"I do. The Spectres need to be diverse, if we are to properly protect the galaxy. Every species brings their own perspective to the table, and all are valid. What remains to be seen is whether Shepard has what it takes."

—

"Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence." The helmsman's voice echoed through the CIC as Shepard walked through, greeting her new shipmates, learning their names and faces. Even though she'd already reviewed all the personnel files she could get her hands, Shepard liked meeting people face to face when she was going to be working with them. Most were polite but noncommittal, simply greeting her and getting back to work. She caught looks of pity on the faces of some. The ones who knew about Akuze. Shepard had to stop herself from snapping at them. It was a natural reaction. But Preservation's arms was she getting tired of it.

She stepped into the helm just as the pilot began to speak into the intercom again. Joker, she remembered. That's his nickname.

"Board is green. We are beginning the approach run." He said, hands moving over the holographic controls reminding her of an orchestra conductor. As the three humans and one Turian watched, the rings of the Mass Relay spun in their constant pattern. The pilot guided them closer and closer, and the blue glow of the Relay enveloped the Normandy. The Relay's field, powered by an immense amount of Element Zero, didn't just reduce the Normandy's mass. It sent it into the negatives. The ship's engines propelled it through the Relay's path at superluminal speeds, shooting across the galaxy in a matter of seconds.

"Thrusters and navigation check. Emissions sink engaged. All systems green. Drift is just under fifteen hundred k."

The turian who'd been standing at the back of the room nodded. "Fifteen hundred is good. Your captain will be pleased." Shepard glanced back at him as he turned and left the room, his black armor almost a perfect match for his carapace. When she turned back, the pilot was rolling his eyes.

"What a dick."

Kaidan Alenko, the soldier in the co-pilot's seat, raised an eyebrow at that. "Nihlus gave you a compliment…so you hate him?"

Joker glared at his co-pilot. "Hey, you remember to zip up your jumpsuit after taking a leak, that's good. I just jumped this ship halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. That's incredible! And besides, I don't like having a Spectre on board. Call me paranoid, but that's just _asking_ for trouble."

"You're paranoid. Of course the Council sent someone to keep an eye on the ship, they helped fund it."

"Yeah, sure. That's the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

Shepard nodded. "Joker's probably right. They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs." The pilot nodded in satisfaction at Alenko.

"So you do think there's more going on here than the Captain's letting on."

Speak of the devil and he shall come, Shepard thought as Anderson's voice came through the speaker.

"Joker, status report!"

"We've cleared the relay and stealth systems are engaged, Captain. Everything's solid as steel."

"Good." Joker rolled his eyes at that. "Now find us a comm buoy and link us in. I want mission reports sent to the Alliance before we reach Elendel Prime. And send Shepard to the comm room for a debriefing."

"Aye aye, sir."

"I'm on my way," Shepard said. Joker snorted as she headed out of the helm.

"Is it just me, or does the Captain alway sound pissed off?"

"Only when he's talking to you, Joker."

—

When Shepard reached the comm room, the only one there was Nihlus.

"Ah, Commander Shepard. Good, I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk." The turian said. His voice had that odd reverberating quality common to all members of his species. Why did they sound like that? Was it due to their carapace, or something with the vocal cords or voice box? She made a mental note to look it up later.

"Talk?"

"Yes. I'm interested in this world we're going to. Elendel Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful." He said, changing the display to show pictures of the colony.

"So I've heard. But if you want to know more about it, you should ask Jenkins," she gestured back toward the CIC, where she'd last seen the soldier in question. "He's the one who grew up there."

"You may not have been there, but you have heard of it. It's become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?"

"If you've got something to say, just say it." Shepard said.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place."

"Yeah, because I wouldn't know anything about that." She replied, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Not like I've ever had to deal with batarians or thresher maws or anything."

"Shepard! That's enough!" Anderson snapped, cutting her off before she could really get rolling. Shepard snapped her mouth shut and gave the Captain a salute.

"Sir!"

"Nihlus, I think its time we told the Commander what's really going on here." The turian nodded, and changed the display with a flick of his fingers. Now it showed what looked like an archaeological site somewhere in Elendel Prime's hills.

"Commander, this mission is more than a simple shakedown run."

Shepard shrugged. "I figured there was more to this than you were telling us, Captain."

"We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the Normandy. Its stealth technology make it our only ship that can move through the system without being detected."

"So why didn't you tell me about this, sir?"

"Orders from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis."

"Alright," Shepard said, folding her arms across her chest. "So what's the payload, sir?"

"A research team unearthed something during an excavation. A Prothean Beacon."

Well, that certainly explained the secrecy, Shepard thought. "What else can you tell me?"

"This is big, Shepard. The last time we found something like this, our technology jumped forward a couple centuries. But we don't have the facilities for something of this magnitude on Elendel Prime. So we're bringing it back to the Citadel for proper study."

"I'm surprised no one in the Alliance tried to keep that from happening. We've still got some xenophobes in Parliament, after all." Shepard said, scowling at memories of some of the more…violent pro-human rhetoric she'd heard.

"That's one of the other reasons this was kept secret." Anderson nodded.

"And in any case, withholding Prothean technology is a crime in Council space. If your species truly wants to become a part of the galactic community, then you need to cooperate on this. That's not the only reason I'm here, though."

"Nihlus is also here to observe you." Anderson said.

"Me? What does he need to observe me for?"

"I've submitted your name as a prospective Spectre candidate." Nihlus said, causing Shepard to raise her eyebrows in surprise. "Despite what some humans think, not all turians despise humanity. Many see the potential that your species has. We see what you have to offer the rest of the galaxy…and the Spectres. We're an elite group. It's extremely rare to find someone with the skills we require. I don't care that you're a human, Shepard. Only whether you can do the job."

"You'll be in charge of the team that secures the beacon, commander. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission. And Commander?"

"Sir?"

"This is bigger than just you. Humanity needs this. We're all counting on you."

"Of course." Shepard said. _No pressure_ , she thought.

"Captain, you're gonna want to see this." Joker's voice cut in over the intercom. "Distress signal from Eden Prime."

"Bring it onscreen."

—

The image of the dig site was replaced by a marine firing at something out of the frame. The sounds of screaming and gunfire hit Shepard's ears as the sound from the video came online. The camera seemed to jump around without rhyme or reason until a woman in pale armor came into view.

"Get down!" The woman shouted, pulling the camera's bearer into the dirt.

"We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties, I repeat, heavy casualties! We need evac! Rust and Ruin, they came out of nowhere!" Another man screamed, taking cover with his comrades. Something about the sound of some of the weapons didn't seem right to Shepard. She was no Tineye, but those definitely didn't sound like normal firearms.

And then the camera looked up, at _something_ coming down from the clouds.

—

"Everything cuts out after that. No comm traffic or anything."

"Reverse and hold at thirty eight point five" Anderson said. The footage reversed, stopping on the image of… _something_ coming down out of the sky. Shrouded in crimson lightning, it was like the hand of Ruin himself. A glance to the side let Shepard see Nihlus staring at the screen, his mandibles flared. She wasn't well versed in turian expressions, but she was pretty sure that was the equivalent of wide-eyed shock.

"Status report, Joker"

"Seventeen minutes out, captain. No other Alliance ships in the area."

Anderson nodded. "Get us there fast and quiet, Moreau. This mission just got a damn sight more complicated."

"A small strike team should be able to move quickly without drawing attention. It's the best chance we have to secure the beacon." Nihlus said.

"Agreed. Get your gear and meet us in the cargo hold. Shepard, tell Jenkins and Alenko to suit up. You're going in."

—

Shepard stood up, watching the Normandy fly away over their heads, the vessel's shape quickly swallowed by the crimson sky.

"It's like we went back to the World of Ash," she murmured.

"You say something, Commander?" Alenko asked. Shepard shook her head.

"Just talking to myself. Hey, Jenkins?"

"Yeah?"

"You're from Elendel Prime, right? Do you know this area?"

"Yes, ma'am. Used to come out here with my friends, when we wanted to get away from everything else."

"Good. You take point, since you know the terrain," Shepard said, unhooking her shotgun from the magnetic point on her back and letting it unfold. Jenkins nodded, and started down the path. Shepard and Alenko fell into step behind him, each soldier forming the point of a triangle. It wasn't long before the stench began to make its way into their helmets.

"Ugh! Survivor's scars, what _is_ that?" Jenkins groaned, slapping a hand over the front of his helmet in an attempt to stop the smell from getting in.

"Burning flesh and hair," Alenko said. "Whatever attacked, they've already been through here."

"Damn," Jenkins swore. "This place is never gonna be the same." Shepard nodded in agreement.

"No it won't. Now let's keep movi—."

The final syllable of the word was drowned out by the explosive report of Alenko's pistol, as he fired at something ahead of them.

"Hey, Alenko! Calm down, it's just a gas bag!" Jenkins said, stifling a laugh. Alenko lowered his pistol, looking chagrined.

"Gas bag?" He asked, staring at the thing he'd been shooting. It looked like a large, lumpy balloon that floated at about shoulder-height, with tendrils hanging down from the bottom.

"Yeah, don't worry. They're harmless," Jenkins said, giving the thing a soft push that sent it away from them.

"You're telling me that this place has living farts?" Alenko asked.

"Yeah."

"Come on, we can marvel at nature's absurdities later," Shepard said. They fell back into formation, none of them speaking as they made their way to the beacon. It was only a few minutes later that Alenko held his hand up, signaling for them to stop.

"Commander, there's something up ahead," he said, frowning at his omnitool.

"You're gonna have to be more specific than 'something,' Alenko," Shepard said, peering into the trees at the top of the hill. She didn't see anything moving, but that didn't mean much. With all this smoke and the sun blocked out, visibility was way down.

Shepard burned steel, and a web of blue lines sprang into being, extending from the center of his chest and pointing at nearby sources of metal. Most of them pointed to the squad's armor and weapons, but Shepard noticed a few that led to the top of the hill. These lines were moving.

"Yeah, I see them. What else you getting on there?" Shepard asked, ducking behind one of the boulders that littered the ravine floor.

"No idea. The energy output readings are absurd," he said, fingers dancing across his omnitool's interface.

"Must be some heavy armor," Jenkins said. Alenko shook his head.

"I don't think we're dealing with a tank."

"Then what are we dealing with?" Shepard asked, eyes still fixed on the metal lines.

"Looks like three signals, but that much power…"

Alenko's musings were rudely interrupted by something hot and bright slamming into the rocks, sending chips of rock flying out. With a muttered oath, Shepard yanked the biotic farther behind cover, and risked a quick peek over the top of the rock.

Three figures stood at the top of the hill, metallic bodies gleaming in the dim light. Shepard shielded her eyes, trying to get a look at the attackers' faces past the glare that obscured them. One of them turned, and Shepard realized why she hadn't been able to see their faces; they didn't have any. Where their faces should've been, each figure had only a single, blazing light.

"Rust and Ruin," Shepard whispered, ducking back behind cover, "they're geth."

"What the hell are the geth doing on Elendel Prime?" Alenko wondered.

"Does it matter? They're attacking the colony, which means they need to go down!" Jenkins said, springing up and firing at the geth. He fired short, six-round bursts at the geth, their shields flashing as the slugs impacted. Shepard joined him, her shotgun roaring as she focused on the lead geth, each shot draining its barriers a little more.

Another metal line, one pointing into the trees behind the geth, moved. Shepard ducked back behind cover, focusing on that line, waiting to see if it was just a random piece of debris that the geth had disturbed, or…

It moved again, drawing closer to the edge of the trees.

"We've got a fourth one!" Shepard shouted into her radio, getting two grunts of acknowledgement in return. She leaned out of cover again, firing at the lead geth. Its barriers vanished in a final flash of blue, and Alenko's shots began to tear into it, knocking it back a few steps with each hit. Jenkins let out a shout, joining Alenko in focusing on the shield-less geth. Even the thick armor of the geth's body couldn't stand up to that much concentrated fire for long. Its limbs began to twitch, throwing off its aim as it tried to return fire. Then, with a final burst from Jenkins, the geth's light winked out.

Then the fourth geth, still hidden in the shadows, fired.

The rifle made an odd, pulsing sound, and a fraction of a second later there was a loud *crack* as the slug broke the sound barrier. That was swiftly followed by a second, wetter sound as Jenkins chest exploded outward in a shower of blood and metal.

"Fuck!" Shepard shouted, pushing off of Jenkins' armor, flinging herself backwards, landing behind a larger boulder. Alenko was close behind her, ducking and rolling as the geth opened fire.

"Rusts, what was that?" Alenko gasped, looking over his shoulder at where Jenkins' body lay.

"Sniper," Shepard said, closing her eyes. Even with them closed, she could still see the metal lines. She focused on one of them, and flared her steel, pushing with all of her might on the geth. She heard the sound of metal against stone and hit another geth with a push, this one less powerful. But she kept up the push, trying to keep the geth from moving.

Shepard opened her eyes and rolled out of cover, firing at the geth she was pushing against, its back pressed against a tree. Alenko joined her, their shots battering away at its shields.

The rest of the geth weren't standing idly by, unfortunately. All of them opened fire on Shepard and Alenko, and he only barely managed to throw up a biotic barrier in time, the geth's shots rebounding off of it.

"Alenko, I'll need you to hit them with an overload in a couple seconds," Shepard said, pointing her shotgun at the ground. "I'm going in close."

She fired the shotgun, then lifted it and fired again, this time at the rock behind them. With a shout, Shepard pushed against the two clusters of metal slugs lodged, flinging herself up and forward. As she flew, she tapped a metalmind, drawing on the speed she'd stored there. Around her, the world seemed to slow, the geth looking like they were wading through tar. Shepard fired her shotgun at the ground again, pushing against this new anchor to push herself closer to the geth. She stopped pushing once she was right above the geth, and slammed into the machines with every bit of force she could muster. The geth staggered as her fall slowed, and she fired down at them again, shotgun wearing away their already taxed barriers.

"Alenko, now!" Shepard shouted. And a second later, one of the geth's shields overloaded, arcs of lightning dancing along its body and leaping to the second geth. Still tapping speed, it was the simplest thing in the world to dash forward, press her shotgun's barrel to the twitching geth's chest, and blast the front of its chest out its back, all before it could recover from Alenko's overload. The geth fell, its 'eye' going dark, and Shepard spun around, looking for the second geth.

Alenko had that covered, it seemed. The geth was floating through the air toward him, surrounded by a field of blue light as it flailed its limbs and tried to escape from the biotic Pull. Alenko didn't let it, flinging a sphere of twisting energies at the geth just as the Pull began to fade.

The Warp reacted with the Pull, detonating with a deafening bang and tearing the geth apart. The remains of its torso landed on the rocky ground, smoking and leaking some sort of white fluid.

That just left the sniper.

Shepard kept tapping speed, draining the metalmind little by little. She'd have to make sure to stock up soon, but she'd used this thing for ages, filling it with days of speed. She followed the metal line to the sniper, still hidden in the stand of trees. Her visor shifted, cutting through the gloom a little, and she could just make out the geth, crouching low as it brought a monstrous sniper rifle up to its eye, the barrel pointed right at her.

Vin burned her second well of steel, the one from the pieces of her metalmind she'd shaved off and swallowed.

She _burst_ into motion, dashing to the side before the sniper could fire and pushing against the weapon with a sharp burst of force. That flung the rifle out of the geth's hands, and gave her an opening to get in close. Her speed was burning away fast, but there was just enough to deal with the geth.

She brought her shotgun up and fired, a few shots at close range were enough to take its shields down. Shepard pulled the trigger for one final shot. The only sound from the gun was a shrill beeping as it notified her that it was overheated.

"Rusts," she swore, flaring her speed and diving out of the geth's way as it tried to tackle her. A flash of white caught her eye, and she grabbed the object off the ground. It was a chunk of armor from one of the fallen geth. Just what she needed.

She was a coinshot. She didn't need a gun to end this thing.

Shepard pushed on the chunk of metal sending it tearing through the geth's head in a burst of sparks and wires.

The geth fell, white fluid pooling around its head and soaking into the dirt. Shepard walked over to where the sniper rifle had fallen and knelt, examining it. She wasn't a sniper, but a weapon that powerful could definitely come in handy. Shrugging, she turned it over, pressing on sections of the gun until it began to fold up, placing it on her back once it was gun.

Sighing, Shepard turned to see Alenko making his way up the hill to her, the other two geth laying in smoking, sparking heaps. _Right_ , she thought, _robots vs someone who knew his way around tech. Sucks to be the geth._

Shepard's eyes fell on the slumped corpse of Jenkins.

"Shit," she muttered. In the heat of the battle, she'd completely forgotten about him. "Come on, Alenko,"she said, motioning towards the path. "We've still got a beacon to retrieve."

"Are we just going to leave him there? Doesn't seem right."

"There's nothing we can do for him now. We'll retrieve his body and give him a proper burial once we have the beacon."

"Alright, Commander."

"~epard? Do you copy?" Her helmet radio crackled, and Nihlus repeated the question.

"I read you, Nihlus," Shepard answered, index finger against the side of her helmet.

"Commander, the attackers are geth."

"I know. We ran into some too. Jenkins is dead."

"Damn," the turian whispered, "I'll keep moving ahead. Gather any intel you can. This is the first time the geth have been outside the veil in nearly three centuries, and we need to know why."

"Got it. Shepard out."

—

Shepard kept tracking the blue lines of nearby sources of metal as they made their way through the trees. None of the lines moved, but that didn't let her relax. Some of the geth might be made with aluminum alloys. Or maybe there were other metals that were allomantically inert, ones that didn't occur on Scadrial.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, one of the lines began to move, growing brighter as the source neared them. A second line joined it, followed closely by a third.

"Heads up, Alenko," she said, drawing her pistol. "We've got incoming." He nodded, pressing his back against one of the trees and drawing his limbs close, reducing the chance of anything spotting part of him sticking out. His fingers began to flicker over his omni-tool's interface, doing something that escaped Shepard. She'd wanted to be an engineer, once, but that was before she learned how terrible she was at math.

A trio of geth drones rose over the hilltop, slipping smoothly through the air, accompanied only by the soft whirring of their mass-effect generators. Shepard focused on the three blue lines, and pushed on the drones' metal shells. The drones, made lighter by the same technology that let them hover and fly, flew backwards like dead leaves in a gust of wind. One of them let out an electronic screech, its single glowing sensor flashing red.

"Alenko, overload!" She barked. He nodded, omnitool flashing as he pointed at one of the drones. Its shields flashed, twisting fingers of electricity playing across them as the influx of energy proved more than the generators could handle. The electrical burst leapt across the air, striking another drone and weakening its shields in a final burst of electricity. Shepard kept pushing on the drones, increasing the intensity of it as they tried to force their way closer.

Teeth bared in a snarl, she lifted her pistol and fired at the one that Alenko had overloaded. Without shields, the bullets tore into the drone, punching holes in its metal shell and ripping apart its internal workings. The drone's gun pulsed, firing a burst of plasma in a final assault. Shepard ducked behind the nearest tree, releasing her push on the other two drones. The tree's trunk shuddered and shook as the plasma hit, adding the smell of burning wood to the other aromas filling the air. It started to creak, the shadow it cast over Shepard growing larger as the tree fell.

"Rusts!" Shepard rolled to the side, away from the falling tree, and came up with her gun at the ready, aiming at where the drones' metal lines were pointing. The one she'd shot was on the ground, most definitely dead. Or deactivated, anyway. Moments later, another drone flew past her, backwards, lit by a bolt of biotic force that hurled it against a tree.

She and Alenko both opened fire on that one, their shots destroying the barriers and blasting the drone apart. Even as she fired, Shepard noticed the blue line of the third drone, moving off to the side. She hit it with a push, and was greeted with the satisfying sound of metal hitting stone. Twisting to get a look at the drone, Shepard exchanged her pistol for her shotgun, the motions smooth and fluid from years of repetition. The drone's weapon flashed, plasma splashing against her barriers and sending a wave of heat rushing over her. Her suit couldn't handle another hit, but that was alright. It wouldn't get the chance. Shepard fired, and the drone fell to the earth with an electronic whine.

Alenko caught up with her, and they took a moment to look around, searching for any signs of geth ahead.

It didn't take long for the distinctive sound of geth rifles to reach Shepard's ears.

Someone in white and pink armor burst around a bend in the path, sprinting away from a squad of geth. Plasma scorched the earth all around the soldier, kicking up dust and dirt. Shepard tapped her steelmind, enough to triple her normal speed, and bolted forward.

The soldier they'd been chasing fired off a burst from her rifle, ducking back into cover when one of the geth returned fire.

Shepard slowed, pointed her shotgun at the ground behind her, and fired. Without fully stopping, she pushed off of the anchor she'd just created, flying into the sky and arcing over the battlefield. The line pointing to her anchor began to grow fainter, and Shepard started to fall. That was alright. She had something to slow herself.

Shepard let go of the anchor behind her, and pushed against squad of geth below her. Her push hit them like an invisible hammer, making one of the machines stumble as her weight pressed against it and bore it down. With the geth as supports, Shepard's fall slowed, then stopped entirely. Her shotgun roared, slamming into the geth's barriers.

Blue light flashed around one of them, a nimbus of twisting forces tearing at the geth. It twitched, firing back at Alenko, but he'd already moved to another bit of cover.

Shepard grinned, and stopped tapping speed. Instead, she drew on the ironmind that was built into her armor, quadrupling her weight as she stopped pushing against the geth below her. With the sudden increase in weight, she plummeted toward the ground like a stone, directly above one of the geth.

She hit it feet-first, metal twisting under the impact. The Geth's eye went dark, and she rolled to her feet, finger twitching as she fired the shotgun again and again. The geth had to face an attack on two fronts now, and defend themselves from Alenko and the soldier they'd been chasing on one side, and Shepard on the other. Done with the increased weight, Shepard dumped it back into the ironmind, restoring her to normal levels.

Shepard hit the nearest geth with another push, slamming it against a rock. Its leg twisted, the geth falling to one knee as it kept firing, but Shepard just kept pushing on the barrel of its gun. Its shots went wild, and it screeched in what, in an organic, would've been frustration.

Something landed between the remaining geth, a metal puck with a flashing light, one that was speeding up.

Shepard tapped speed again, sprinting away from the grenade so fast that she kicked up a line of dust behind her. The grenade detonated, splitting the air with a thunderous 'crack.' A wave of heat hit Shepard's back, one she could feel even with the armor on, and she slowed down, glancing behind.

All that was left was a scorch mark, radiating out from the spot where the grenade had been, and an assortment of geth fragments. Shepard turned back to Alenko and the other soldier.

"Thanks for the rescue, ma'am," the soldier said, "I thought I wasn't gonna make it." The woman pulled off her helmet, revealing dusky skin, dark eyes, and black hair pulled back in a bun. "Ashley Williams, Gunnery Chief with the 212."

"I'm Commander Shepard, Marines," at the mention of her rank, Williams snapped to attention, giving her a picture-perfect salute. "And this is Kaidan Alenko. Are you injured, Williams?" Shepard asked, giving her a once-over. Williams shook her head.

"A few scrapes, bruises, and burns, but nothing to worry about. The…the rest of my squad wasn't so lucky," Williams said with a grimace."

"We were sent here to retrieve the Prothean beacon they found here. Any information you can give us would be appreciated," Shepard said, softening her tone slightly.

"We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack came. We tried to send out a distress call, but those things cut our communications…"

Shepard snapped her fingers as something fit together in her mind. "That's why your voice sounds so familiar. You were on that distress signal we got!" Williams expression brightened a bit at that.

"So we _did_ get through!"

"Only to us, I think. We were pretty much in orbit already," Shepard said. "Sorry for interrupting. What about the rest of your squad?"

"Nirali and I tried to get back to the beacon after the first attack, but we walked right into an ambush. I don't think any…I think I'm the only one left."

Shepard stepped forward, placing her hand on Williams' shoulder. "This wasn't your fault, Chief. You did everything you could."

"Yes ma'am. We held our position as long as we could, until the geth overwhelmed us."

"This still doesn't make any sense, Alenko said, prodding one of the geth with his toe. "The geth haven't been outside the Veil in almost three centuries. What are they doing here now?"

"They came for the beacon, I think. The dig site's just over that rise." Williams said, pointing. "It might still be there."

"We could use your help, Williams."

"Aye aye, ma'am. Time for some payback." Williams saluted again, then pulled her helmet back on.

—

While they walked, Shepard took the opportunity to grill Williams for more information.

"What can you tell me about the beacon, anyway? I didn't get much of a briefing before we got your distress call." Williams shrugged.

"Not a whole lot. I tried asking one of the scientists, but most of what she said went over my head. All I know is that they found some Prothean ruins a few weeks ago when they were digging to extend the monorail. Next thing you know, every scientist in the colony is crawling all over the site."

"Where are they now? The scientists, I mean?" Alenko asked.

"Don't know. They set up camp near the beacon, and the 232 was with them. Maybe they had more luck than my unit."

"What happened before the attack?"

"We got sent out a couple nights ago, to secure the area. Everything seemed normal until the geth hit us. And that ship of theirs…" Williams said. Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Ship? I saw something on the distress call you sent, something coming down out of the sky."

"Yeah, that was it, alright. Never seen anything like it. But it made this noise, like a horn or something, and it made me feel like someone was drilling holes in my skull," Williams said.

"Huh," Alenko said.

"How much farther, anyway?"

"Not far. The beacon's at the end of this trench," Williams replied, pointing down the rocky area ahead. Shepard held up a fist, calling for a stop, and flared her steel. Apart from the lines pointing to Williams, Alenko, and their weapons, none of the nearby sources of metal were moving.

"I can't see anything moving my way. Alenko, what about you?" He shook his head.

"Looks like we're all clear, Commander."

"Right. Stay alert. For all we know, we dealt with the only geth that aren't made out of aluminum or something."

They continued down the trench in silence, nerves as tense as a tightly-wound spring, eyes darting this way and that as they searched for anything that could be a threat. Nothing came.

Nothing leaped out at them, nothing shot at them. This did nothing to calm Shepard down. And once they reached the place that the beacon should have been, they were treated to more disappointment.

"The beacon's not here!"

"The geth must've moved it," Alenko said, gesturing at the scratches on the stone. "Protheans built their stuff to last. Pretty much only prothean steel can do anything to their concrete."

"I'll take your word for it, Alenko. You're the history nerd."

"The research camp is just at the top of this ridge. Maybe we'll find some answers there," Williams said.

—

What they found at the top of the ramp wasn't answers. It was a nightmare.

Before them stood a group of metal spikes, each one at least two meters tall. And each spike had at least one body impaled upon it, suspended above the ground by the hideous contraptions. Tendrils of electricity danced along the corpses, making them twitch and shudder.

"Merciful Survivor," Williams whispered.

The spikes hummed with power, the hum growing louder and louder, and the bodies began to change.

It wasn't clear what was happening at first, the change was so slow, but Shepard had seen it happen before. The bodies were losing color. Not in the sense of the skin going pale from blood loss. No, they were becoming grey. Hair, eyes, skin…it all faded to shades of grey.

"Batarians," Shepard whispered, clenching her fists.

"What?"

"The geth must be working with the batarians. I've seen that happen before, the bodies going grey. The batarians who attacked Mindoir did something to a few corpses that made them turn grey, and start walking around." Shepard raised her shotgun, and switched it to incendiary ammo. "They didn't have these things last time, though."

The spikes shuddered, and with a heavy 'thump,' they retracted, unloading their grisly creations. The corpses fell to the ground, and through the tears in their clothes Shepard saw something happening. The holes through them, where they'd been impaled, were closing. It wasn't flesh and muscle filling them, but rather some sort of twisted mass of wires. Their skin deformed, splitting in places as the wires grew through their bodies like invading roots.

One of them stood, and Shepard watched his eyes burn out in his skull. The living cables shoved their way out of the empty sockets, forming glassy lenses that flashed with blue light. Behind it, the others were going through the same transformation, the machinery hollowing them out into husks of their former selves.

"Oh what the fuck," Williams breathed.

The first husk's jaw hung open and it let out a low, hoarse moan, a sound that seemed to come from much farther away than the creature that made it. The others answered, each moan slightly different than the others. Shepard suspected that the hellish chorus was going to feature prominently in her nightmares the next time she slept.

All of the husks charged at them, moving in unison, as though they were nothing more than puppets for some demented master. Shepard searched for any metal lines she might be able to use, and saw something very worrying.

The husks didn't have any metal lines pointing to them. Their bodies were riddled with metal, yet her steel-sight showed _nothing_.

A snarl bubbled up from her throat, and Shepard opened fire, the shotgun roaring and sending a husk stumbling backwards with each blast. Worryingly, they weren't taking as much damage as they should've. The husks weren't much more than skin and a bit of muscle over cables and tubes and machinery, but they climbed to their feet with little more than a few scorch marks from her shotgun.

"Incendiary rounds!" Williams shouted, her rifle chattering as she fired. Indeed, she seemed to be having better luck against the husks than Shepard or Alenko, having already reduced three of them to burning heaps on the ground. Shepard nodded, switching her gun to incendiary as well, and opened fire once again. The first blast caught a husk square in the chest, its skin catching fire like dry paper. It kept staggering forward, unaware of the flames that had already started to consume it, another wail issuing forth from its gaping mouth. Shepard fired again, aiming higher, and its head burst in a shower of metal and blood. Head gone, the husk fell to its knees, then collapsed onto the ground, flames still devouring it.

The one behind it leapt for her, making a maddened screech that set Shepard's teeth on edge. She raised her shotgun, but pulling the trigger only gave her a shrill beep as it notified her it was overheated. Shepard swore, and brought up her arms before her, forearms crossed.

The husk hit, sending her falling backwards. Shepard tapped speed once again, turning the fall into a backwards roll that broke the husk's grip on her. Shepard stood, ignoring the slight dizziness, and leapt out of the way as the husk tried to grab her legs.

Shepard brought her foot down on the husk's head, putting every bit of her armored weight behind the stomp.

It went limp as soon as the head was destroyed, and Shepard spun around, looking for the next one.

It barreled into her like a charging boar, carrying her forward until her back slammed against one of the prefabs. The impact knocked her for a loop, and gave the husk the opening it needed to lash out, clawing at the soft suit that was the only thing protecting her neck.

A foot slammed into its side, throwing the husk off of Shepard. Williams stepped forward, taking it in the head with a short burst from her rifle before it could get up, splattering the ground with gore.

"Are you alright, Commander?" Williams asked, holding out a hand. Shepard took it, and let the soldier pull her to her feet.

"Thanks, Williams," she said, locking eyes with Ashley for a moment. The moment lengthened, and a small part of Shepard noted that the gunnery chief had very pretty eyes. She shook her head, breaking eye contact, and pushed those thoughts aside. Now was not the time for that.

"That's the last of them, commander!" Alenko shouted. He'd knelt beside the devices that had transformed the colonists, and was examining them closely.

"Alenko, stay away from those things!" Shepard snapped, striding forward. "Whatever they are, I don't want to find out what else they can do." He nodded, backing away from the spikes with a wary look.

"Why didn't you just push that husk off you, Commander?" He asked, giving her a sidelong look. Shepard frowned.

"Couldn't."

"What? But they're full of metal." Williams said, staring down at one of the corpses. "Dead flesh isn't supposed to be a problem for Lurchers and Coinshots, is it?"

"Yeah, well either it's aluminum, or…"

"Or it's heavily Invested somehow," Alenko finished. He furrowed his brows, staring back at the spikes again. Shepard sighed.

"We can figure that out later. Come on, we need to check if any of the scientists are still ali…" She trailed off as she took a good look at the prefabs. All the windows were shattered, the inside walls splattered with blood. "Oh."

"Shit," Williams whispered.

"Might as well check their computers, see if there's anything that'll tell us where the beacon is."

—

Nihlus stepped through the remains of the final husk, grimacing in disgust. He'd seen more than his share of death, but this…you never got used to seeing civilians killed. You accepted it, accepted that you couldn't save everyone, but get used to it? No. You couldn't afford to become so accustomed to seeing death and destruction that you stopped caring.

"Nihlus!" a familiar voice called out. He turned, brows rising in surprise.

"Saren? What are you doing here?" he asked, clasping the other turian's wrist in greeting as Saren did the same.

"The council thought you could use some help," Saren replied.

"I can't say I mind. The geth outside the veil!" Nihlus said, looking over his former teacher. It had been a couple years since Nihlus had last seen Saren in person, and the older turian had changed. His eyes, once dark and sharp, had been replaced by cybernetic ones that glowed with a deep blue light. His mandibles barely moved, held in place by metal pins and braces. The most notable change, however, was Saren's left arm. It was clearly mechanical, and unlike any prosthetic Nihlus had seen before. It was made of some sort of smooth, matte-black material, fashioned in curving shapes in imitation of muscles. Thick cables wound around it in places, connected to ports on the back of Saren's armor.

Saren seemed to notice Nihlus's gaze on him. He turned to face Nihlus, putting his arms behind his back.

"I'd heard you had been injured. If I'd known it was that bad, I would have gotten in touch sooner."

"No need to apologize," Saren said, waving a hand dismissively, "We both know how the job keeps us busy."

Nihlus fell silent, walking ahead of Saren as they approached the steps of the monorail station. Nihlus peered across the platform, swearing under his breath when he caught sight of the massive, crimson-armored geth below.

"Merciful spirits," Nihlus breathed.

In a moment of silence, Nihlus heard the sound of a gun being armed. In a blur of motion, he spun around and slammed the side of his hand into Saren's forearm, knocking the gun out of his hand and sending it spinning across the metal floor. Saren growled, low and predatory, and lunged forward, aiming to drive his fist into Nihlus's side.

Nihlus twisted out of the way, letting Saren's strike pass through empty air. He spun around Saren, coming up behind him and pistol-whipping the back of his head. Saren snarled, and his artificial arm struck, displaying a range of motion in excess of any flesh-and-blood limb. The metal claw closed around Nihlus's wrist and flung him forward, sending the turian flying through the air towards a stack of storage containers. He managed to turn his fall into a roll, coming up with his gun drawn and pointed at Saren.

"You're working with the geth? Have you lost your mind, Saren?"

"We don't have to fight, Nihlus!" Saren said, pacing out a circle across from Nihlus, while Nihlus did the same thing. "Join me!"

"In what? Your genocidal vendetta against humanity?"

"This is bigger than one species! Bigger than the council!" Saren replied, extending his living hand to Nihlus, palm up.

Nihlus answered with his rifle, aiming at Saren's head. A hardened spectre Saren may have been, but even he couldn't quite stop himself from flinching when the shots bounced off the shields, centimeters from his eyes. That flinch, that moment of distraction, was all Nihlus needed. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye, followed by a faint glow.

Nihlus struck on Saren's left side, a glowing orange blade spinning out from his omnitool as he drove his fist up under the mechanical arm. The flash-forged diamond blade bit into Saren's armor and the flesh beneath, filling Nihlus's nostrils with the scent of burning flesh. Saren gasped, and lashed out at Nihlus in desperation. And Nihlus, so consumed by anger and betrayal, didn't fully dodge Saren's strike. Blue light pulsed around Saren's right arm as he slammed his palm into Nihlus's shoulder. It was only a glancing hit, but the biotic attack threw Nihlus back into a pillar, his head striking it with a loud 'crack!' one of the spikes of his crest broke off, sending white-hot agony racing down his face.

Nihlus struggled to his feet, dazed.

"You…how are you a biotic?" he muttered, staring at Saren. Saren ignored the question, gesturing at him.

Two geth, which had been hidden in all the storage containers, grabbed Nihlus's arms and slammed him down onto the ground. They held him there, slowly crushing his wrists in their viselike grips.

"I'm sorry, Nihlus," Saren said as he strode forward, pulling something from a pouch on his belt. It was a spike, like a massive nail, fashioned out of metal that glowed with a soft blue light.

Element zero.

Nihlus arched his back, getting his feet flat against the ground as he tried to escape the geth and push himself to his feet. The machines tightened their grip, and Nihlus heard the bones of his forearms crack. He screamed, forgetting about anything except the agony that shot up his arms.

"Don't worry," Saren said, crouching down next to Nihlus. "I'll make it quick."

He drove the spike down.

—

As the last husk fell, Shepard caught sight of something on the ground ahead.

"Commander, it's Nihlus," Alenko said, leaning over the corpse.

Shepard's eyes went immediately to the hole in the turian's chest, her stomach twisting itself in knots.

"Something was driven right through his armor, into his heart," Alenko said, confirming Shepard's suspicions.

"Maybe it was a Graal? Batarians like those, and you thought they might be involved, right?" Williams said.

"Wasn't a shotgun that did that, and sure as hell wasn't a batarian," a man said. All three of them spun around, guns in hand. The man froze, hands in the air and eyes wide.

"Hey, whoa! I'm one of you! I'm human!"

"What were you doing back there? Shepard asked, relaxing a little. She kept her gun trained on the man, though. After the day she'd had, a little paranoia was warranted.

"I…I was hiding from those things. Name's Powell. I saw what happened to the turian."

"Tell me everything," Shepard said, activating the voice recorder and camera on her helmet.

"The other one was waiting for him when he got here. Sounded like they knew each other. Couldn't hear much of what they said, but your turian there called the other one Saren."

"This Saren, he was a turian? You're saying he killed Nihlus?"

"Yeah," Powell said, nodding vigorously. "They fought, punching and shooting and beating the hell out of each other. Saren threw Nihlus into that pillar, and that knocked him for a loop. He had a couple of those machines grab Nihlus and hold him down…" Powell swallowed, his skin going pale at the memory.

"What happened next?" Shepard asked.

"Saren drove a spike through Nihlus's heart," Powell whispered, looking nauseous. Then he took it out and put in a jar, and got the geth to fill the rest of the jar with blood."

Shepard's stomach dropped.

Hemalurgy. How the _hell_ did a turian know Hemalurgy?

"What about the beacon?" Shepard asked, shoving the issue of Saren's knowledge aside for now.

"It's on the other platform," Powell said, hooking his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the monorail. "That Saren…he took the monorail after he was done here. Knew that damn beacon was trouble. First that damn mothership shows up, then the attack. I'd've been dead if I hadn't been hiding behind the crates."

"Mothership?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah. That's what woke me up. Thing was huge, bigger than any ship I've ever seen. And it made this sound…like the world's biggest foghorn. Next thing you know, this place is crawling with those flashlight-heads."

Williams narrowed her eyes, leaning forward and jabbing at the man's chest with her finger.

"You were _sleeping_? You skipped work and did _nothing_ while everyone else was slaughtered by the geth?" She snapped. Powell backed away, waving his hands in front of him.

"What was I supposed to do, hit them with a wrench? Sometimes I need a nap to make it through my shift, so I picked a spot where my boss would 't find me!" he said, voice shaking and face pale. "Survivor help me, I had to sit there and listen to the screams…"

"Williams, we've got more important things to deal with. We have to stop Saren from getting away with the beacon. And besides, this guy's already been through enough."

"Good…good luck," Powell said, heading toward the stairs, "I need to get away from this."

—

They got an unpleasant surprise when they reached the other end of the monorail, in the form of a large, cylindrical object laying on the platform.

"It's a demolition charge!" Alenko said, kneeling beside the bomb. "Saren must want to destroy any evidence he was here."

"Can you defuse it?" Williams asked. Alenko gave a terse nod.

"Alright, we'll cover you. Get that thing taken care of," Shepard said, drawing her shotgun. And not a moment too soon, as the sound of metal feet on the platform reached her ears.

Williams spun, firing on the geth at the top of the ramp. It screeched, returning fire as it advanced. And it had company.

Shepard snarled and pushed on the geth's weapons, knocking them aside and making their shots go wide. A couple even ended up hitting their comrades, barriers flashing and weakening under the plasma fire. Shepard blinked, noting that the plasma weapons seemed to do a lot more against the goths's shields than her own weapons did. Something to remember, maybe?

Williams kept firing, and Shepard didn't let on her Allomantic assault. She hit the geth with a barrage of short, sharp jabs, pushing on their guns and their joints. Their electronic screeches grew louder, giving the impression that she was really frustrating them. Assuming that geth could even get frustrated, of course.

One growl came from much closer, and Shepard let out a surprised yelp, turning around to see a single geth standing on the monorail car. It must've managed to sneak around and get behind her.

Shepard focused on the metal line pointing to the geth, noting all the different sections of armor, the joints that were visible beneath synthetic muscle, and the twisting cables and tubes that poked out in places. Her focus narrowed, all her attention centered on that single blue line. The line split, a line now pointing to each and every separate piece of metal that made up the geth.

Her first push hit the geth at the knees, making them bow outward in a way they certainly weren't designed to. The geth toppled, its weapon flying out of its hands as Shepard pushed on it. Her shotgun roared, and the geth's head disintegrated in a cloud of metal.

 _One down_ , she thought, turning back to the main group of geth. Williams was handling herself beautifully, whittling the squad of five down to two while Shepard had been busy with the one behind. As she watched, Williams leaned out of cover and fired once, the shot taking a geth trooper right in the neck. Its eye went dark.

Shepard grinned, then pushed herself up into the air, leaping up to the second level of the platform. She landed right next to the last geth, and hit it with a push that sent it flying backwards. Before the geth could get back on its feet, Shepard fired again, her shotgun punching a hole in the geth's torso.

"Bomb's disarmed, commander," Alenko said over the helmet radio. "But I don't think that was the only one."

"Of course not," Shepard sighed. "Let's move it. Find those other bombs!"

The next bomb was at the top of the ramp, up against a wall. But, of course, there were more geth coming. Shepard immediately set her sights on the sniper at the far end of the walkway, wielding another one of the massive rifles that had slain Jenkins.

"Alenko, disarm that bomb, and then I need an Overload on that sniper!" Shepard said, ducking behind a pillar. His hands danced across the bomb's control panel, and he gave her a distracted nod. Shepard turned back to the geth and noticed a pair of them placing something on the ground. A moment later, a hexagonal barrier sprang into being, blocking most of the walkway.

"Dammit," Shepard muttered, glaring at the shield. But Williams shook her head.

"That's only a short term shield," She said, firing at it. And sure enough, every shot that hit the barrier made the blue energy grow a bit lighter.

"Bomb's disarmed, Commander," Alenko said from behind them.

"Good. Alenko, overload the sniper. Ashley, take that shield down. On my mark." Shepard held up a hand, and counted down. "Three…two…one…Now!"

Williams opened fire, and the barrage was too much for the shield to handle.

Electricity arced around the sniper, lashing out and striking the geth next to it, spiderwebbing out over their barriers.

Shepard leaned back, bracing herself against the pillar and pushed with all her might on one of the large storage containers ahead. It was considerably heavier than her, even in armor, but with her back pressed against the pillar, Shepard couldn't move back anymore. The container ground forward, scraping against the walkway as she pushed it towards the geth. One of them managed to roll out of the way. The rest weren't so lucky. It hit them head on, carrying the geth back and slamming them against the wall with the sound of crunching metal.

"Come on!" Shepard said, tapping a sliver of speed as she sprinted forward. She spotted the next bomb at the end of the walkway, and pointed it out to Alenko.

From behind, a geth let out one of those electronic screeches. Shepard spun, shotgun raised, but she needn't have bothered. Williams was already firing, and at such close range, the geth's already weakened barriers didn't do it much good. It fell to the ground, white geth 'blood' leaking from severed tubes.

"Nice work, Ashley," Shepard said, nodding at her. Turning around, Shepard look down onto the lower level of the platform.

The beacon was there.

It was a tall, slim thing, with slightly curved sides, etched with thick grooves that glowed with an emerald light. The rest of it was a dull, steely gray.

Alenko let a low whistle, eyes widening slightly. "Wow," he breathed.

"Hate to break it to you, but we've got more pressing issues than the beacon," Williams said, pointing to the side of it.

The beacon had been so eye-catching that Shepard had somehow missed the _massive_ geth standing in the shadows.

"What in Harmony's name?" Shepard whispered, her blood running cold. The geth was at least seven feet tall, covered in deep red armor. Where the rest of the geth had only a single eye, this thing had three smaller lights, each one a burning crimson.

"That's going to take more than an overload and a few shots," Alenko said, voice soft.

"We can make this work," Shepard said, with a lot more optimism than she really felt. "Williams, how good are you with a sniper rifle?"

"I'm good enough for whatever you need me to do. Besides, I'd have trouble missing that thing."

"Alright. Stay up here and cover us," Shepard said, unhooking the geth sniper rifle from her back. "It's got a hell of a kick, so be careful."

Williams nodded and rested the rifle on a stack of boxes, while Shepard and Alenko made their way down the ramp.

The moment they got to the bottom, a bone-chilling groan reached their ears, followed closely by another, and then another. And sure enough, there were several of the spikes set up on the other side of the platform. The spikes retracted, letting the husks fall to the ground. They got to their feet, growling and flexing their clawed fingers.

Alenko leapt into action, flinging his hands forward and pulsing with blue light. A point of darkness formed near the husks, making a rushing sound as the air was sucked in. A couple of the husks were too close, and their feet left the ground as they started to orbit the singularity.

That got the big geth's attention.

It turned, eyes flaring brighter as it surveyed the battlefield. It made that grinding sound that must have been the geth version of speech, deeper than others of its kind, and it raised its weapon.

Its very large weapon.

"Oh hell," Shepard swore. More geth were making their way to the central section of the platform from one side, and more husks were coming from the other. Only a few more geth troopers, but that was more than enough to be a problem when combined with the big one.

"Alenko, can you think out the husks? I'll do something about the rest of the geth."

"Got it," he said, golden tech armor forming around him. Shepard left him to it, pushing against the metal floor and launching herself into the air. Once she was high enough, Shepard added a push on the pillar next to her, flying over the geth troopers. They opened fire on her, some of the rounds coming close enough to skim her barriers. Shepard landed with a thud, drawing her shotgun and flicking on the brassmind built into it.

The geth came into view, all of them firing, but she was ready. Shepard picked out the blue lines that led to their guns and pushed on all of them, hitting them with as much force as she could. Two of the geth lost their weapons entirely, her push ripping the guns out of their hands and sending them skidding across the floor. The rest managed to hold on, though one geth's rifle flew up and hit it in the 'face'.

Shepard's shotgun roared, blasts slamming into the geth's barriers. The ones who still had their weapons tried to stop her, but Shepard tapped more speed, watching as the geth seemed to slow to a crawl. She dashed around them, getting behind the geth as they tried to find where she'd gone.

She raised her gun, and blew one of the geth's heads off. Before they had time to react, Shepard did the same thing to the geth on either side of that one. Three shotgun blasts rang out almost simultaneously, and three geth fell.

 _One geth left_ , she thought, checking for moving metal lines. She found it nearby, retrieving the rifle that she'd knocked out of its hands. She didn't give it the chance to use it, her shotgun roaring yet again as she reduced its head to crap.

With the geth taken care of, Shepard pushed on the ground again, flinging herself upward. She soared in an arc, coming down on top of one of the husks with the crunch of breaking bone.

She didn't have time to catch her breath, though, because the massive geth was stomping toward her. Alenko launched a warp at it, but the geth barely seemed to notice as the shifting mass effect fields started ripping it apart on the molecular level. It waved its hand, and an orb of orange hard-light appeared before it.

"Combat drone! Alenko, overload!" Shepard shouted, tapping even more speed and sprinting out of the way. Disconcertingly, the geth's gaze followed her, its cannon coming up and starting to glow.

From above, Ashley's stolen sniper rifle boomed, the shot hitting the cannon and sending the shot wide. The geth growled, and thrust a hand forward. The motion launched a ball of electricity. Shepard didn't know what it did, and she had no desire to find out. With a shout, she pushed herself into the air again, coming down behind the geth.

The electricity ball hit the platform, and Shepard learned what it did. A pulse of electricity raced out from the point of impact, overloading her barriers and knocking her backwards. She crashed into a stack of crates, groaning in pain.

Williams fired again, weakening the geth's barriers some more. Not enough, though. It aimed the cannon again, and Shepard struggled to her feet, moving far too slow.

Williams fired again, and the geth finally deigned to notice her, turning and aiming at her vantage point above.

Which was exactly what Alenko had been waiting for. He rushed forward, biotic energies dancing around as he hit the geth with a Lift. It floated off the ground, suddenly ignored by gravity. Shepard smiled, took a deep breath, and slammed the geth with every ounce of strength she had left.

And as she did that, Alenko hit it with a Throw. Their combined attack launched the geth through the air, only stopping when it slammed into a wall.

Slowly, with the sound of grinding metal, the geth stood.

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me," Shepard said, and opened fire.

The kill went to Williams. Somewhere in all the chaos, she'd tossed a few grenades to the ground, setting them to act as proximity mines. The geth's foot came down on one, and it had about a second to realize what that beeping sound was, before it was blown to smithereens.

Fragments of geth rained down around them as Williams joined them at the bottom of the ramp.

"We need bigger guns if we're ever gonna fight one of those again," Ashley said, and both Shepard and Alenko nodded in agreement. Shepard raised her hand to the side of her helmet, pressing the radio button.

"Normandy, the beacon is secure. Requesting immediate evac," She said, keeping the line open while she waited for a response. A few seconds later, Joker's voice cut through the static.

"Roger that, Shepard. On our way to your coordinates."

"This is amazing!" Alenko said as he approached the beacon. "Actual working Prothean technology!" Williams, on the other hand, frowned.

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up," she said, gesturing at the green glow surrounding the object. "Someone must've activated it or something."

Alenko took another step closer.

The beacon's glow flared, sending a needle of emerald light into the sky. Alenko was lifted off the ground, as though an invisible hand had grabbed onto his gorget and hauled him up by it.

With only a second to think, Shepard flung herself with a steelpush, slamming into Kaidan with her shoulder and knocking him free of the beacon's grip.

Bands of force coiled around Shepard's chest, forcing the air from her lungs. The beacon's light grew brighter, surrounding her, her vision overtaken by the blazing glow.

"Shepard!" She heard Ashley yell, in the moments before something wormed its way into her brain and barraged her mind's eye with images.

Shepard cried out, and the beacon showed her the end of everything.


	2. Chapter 2: The Citadel

Fluorescent light hit Shepard's eyes like a fist, drawing a groan from her. She searched her memory, trying to remember why she felt like she had the mother of all hangovers.

"The beacon!" She gasped, trying to sit up. A hand pressed on her shoulder, pushing her back down onto the bed.

"Take it easy, Shepard," said a voice from above her. "You had a lot of people very worried."

Shepard shook her head, trying to match the voice to a name.

"Dr. Chakwas?"

"Good, you remember who I am, at least," Chakwas said. Shepard opened her eyes again, blinking as her vision returned.

"What happened?" Shepard asked, voice hoarse. It was Williams who answered.

"The beacon did something to you. Lifted you up, surrounded you with this green light. Then the whole thing exploded," she said.

"Ugh, that…that would explain why it feels like I have a koloss-ale hangover," Shepard said, rubbing her forehead.

"Yeah. Either the beacon or the explosion knocked you out. The lieutenant and I got you back to the ship, along with what was left of the beacon, and…" Williams trailed off, looking past Shepard. When she turned her head, Shepard caught sight of a black body bag resting on one of the medical beds.

"Nihlus," Shepard said.

"Yeah. Alenko and Anderson were going through his Omni. Something they found there got the Admiral _really_ worked up."

"Any idea what?"

"No clue," Williams said with a shrug. Chakwas moved back from Shepard, allowing her to sit up.

"Well, physically you're fine," the doctor said, "but your brain is a different story."

"There's something wrong with my brain?" Shepard asked, eyes widening.

"Calm down, Shepard. It might well be nothing. But the whole time you were asleep, I saw increased rapid eye movement. Normally I'd just say you were dreaming, but your brainwaves were a near perfect match to someone retrieving memories from a coppermind."

Shepard frowned. "I saw…something. Maybe the beacon could store memories too?"

"It's possible," said a deep voice from the infirmary doorway. Shepard spun around so fast that she heard her neck crack, saluting Anderson with the arm that wasn't sore. "At ease, soldier. How's she doing?"

"Readings all look normal, Captain," Chakwas said, "she's going to be fine."

"Good. Shepard, we need to speak. Privately," Anderson said, glancing at Ashley and Chakwas.

"Aye aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me," Williams said, saluting before exiting the room. Chakwas followed her, and the door hissed shut behind her.

"Sounds like the beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. Are you sure you're ok?"

"'Okay' might be a bit too strong," Shepard said, rubbing her forehead. "I mean, I'm still having trouble with the whole 'geth attacking a human colony' thing. That's not even touching on the batarian involvement, or Jenkins and Nihlus."

"Batarians?"

"Yes, sir. The geth had these spike-things that they impaled people on, and turned them into some sort of version of the walking corpses the Batarians use."

"Hmm…we didn't see anything that might indicate a batarian presence. But that bears looking into." Anderson leaned forward, meeting her eyes for a second. "Shepard, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Things look bad. We lost the beacon, and the geth are invading. The Council's going to want answers."

"Let them look," Shepard said, " I don't have anything to hide."

"I believe you, Shepard. You're a hero in my book. The problem is Saren."

"The turian who killed Nihlus? You know him?"

"Oh, I know him alright. He's a Spectre. One of the best."

"Well, shit," Shepard said. "Do we have anything that could prove he was there?"

"It's not ironclad, but Alenko managed to recover some of the data from Nihlus's Omni and his armor. Most of it's locked and classified, but with any luck the Council or someone in the Spectre offices can open it for us," Anderson said.

"What'd we do to piss him off so much, anyway?"

"He thinks humanity is growing too fast, getting too much power too quickly. A lot of aliens think that way, but most don't actually do anything about it."

"He didn't come to Elendel Prime because he hates humans, though," Shepard said.

"No," Anderson agreed. "He wanted that beacon. You were there, just before it exploded. Did you see anything?"

Shepard shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe. Just before I blacked out, I saw…something. A vision. Or a memory, maybe."

"A vision? Of what?"

"I don't remember. It was all so chaotic. I think there was a battle, or a war. But it felt like the times I've used an unbound coppermind."

"The Council needs to know about this, Shepard," Anderson said, bringing his fist down onto his palm. Shepard snorted, unable to keep from rolling her eyes.

"And what'll we tell them? I had a bad dream? We're just going to have to hope that there's something useful on Nihlus's Omni, sir."

"There could've been anything on that beacon! Lost tech, or weapons blueprints, or Harmony knows what else! Whatever it was, Saren has it. I know him, his politics—he thinks humans are a cancer on the galaxy. This was an act of war, Shepard!"

"He's not going to get away with it, sir," Shepard said, eyes flashing as she got to her feet.

"I'll get in touch with Ambassador Udina, see if he can get us an audience with the Council. We'll be docking soon, so be ready."

"Sir!" Shepard's feet snapped together, saluting Anderson as he walked out. She waited few moments before relaxing. When she caught sight of a bottle of water on the table, Shepard finally realized just how dry her throat was. She grabbed the bottle, chugging it in a few gulps and sighing in relief as she felt the cold spreading out through her body.

"Hey, commander," Williams said, nodding at Shepard as she left the medbay.

"Not to be rude, Williams, but what're you doing here?" Shepard asked.

"Anderson didn't tell you? I've been reassigned to the Normandy."

"Must've slipped his mind," Shepard said, "It's good to have you on board, Ashley."

"Thanks. Glad you're okay. After Jenkins, seems like the crew could use some good news."

"It's never easy, losing a soldier."

"Part of me feels guilty over it," Williams said. "If Jenkins hadn't died, I might not be here."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Chief. You're a good soldier," Shepard said, patting her on the shoulder. "And besides, soldiers die. It's kinda in the job description."

Williams' eyebrows went up. "You survived, though. Mindoir and Akuze, I mean."

"Heard about that, huh?" Shepard sighed, forcing down the guilt that tried to claw its way to the surface.

"Yeah. I thought I recognized your name from somewhere. Sorry if I overstepped, ma'am." Ashley said, slipping back into the 'talking to a superior officer' tone that had undoubtedly been drilled into her brain back in basic. Shepard shook her head.

"It's alright, Ashley. I'm more or less used to the 'fame' by now."

"Attention Normandy!" Joker's voice issued from the intercom, "we are approaching the Citadel!" Ashley's eyes lit up, and she rushed towards the stairs.

"What's the hurry?" Shepard called after her.

"Never seen the Citadel before. I don't wanna miss my chance to get a good view."

—

Shepard took her time walking up to the bridge. Admittedly, that was because she was storing speed, which made her move slower than usual. She hated having to store speed, but it was a necessary part of being a steelrunner.

Alenko and Williams were on the bridge already, both of them staring out the windows in undisguised awe.

"Look at the size of that ship!" Williams pointed out the window at a sleek, massive ship. Shepard couldn't help but note that the strange ship they'd seen on Elendel Prime had been the same size.

"The Destiny Ascension, flagship of the Citadel fleet," Alenko said.

"Yeah, well, size isn't everything," Joker muttered as he brought the Normandy closer.

"Why so touchy?" Williams asked teasingly. Joker ignored her, guiding them into dock as though he'd done it a thousand times. Outside, the docking clamps hissed as they locked into place.

"Welcome to the Citadel, ladies and gentlemen," the pilot said.

—

When Shepard, Anderson, Alenko, and Williams entered Udina's office, the ambassador was already in the middle of a heated discussion with the Council.

"This is an outrage! The council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!" He shouted, jabbing a finger at the holograms.

"An attack so close to council space _is_ worrying," the turian councilor, Sparatus said, "However, there is a reason we don't found colonies so close to the Terminus Systems."

"You were well aware of the risks when you started colonizing the Traverse," the Asari councilor, Tevos, agreed.

"What about Saren?" Udina shot back. "You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre!"

"C-Sec is already investigating your charges against Agent Arterius," Valern said. "Those charges will be discussed at the hearing, and not a moment before. Good day, ambassador."

The holograms winked out, leaving Udina glaring at the wall. After a long moment, the ambassador turned around.

"Captain Anderson. I see you brought half your crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Elendel Prime," he said.

"Good. You said that you might have more concrete evidence?" Udina asked. Alenko stepped forward.

"Yes sir. We managed to recover some of the files from Nihlus's omnitool, but most of it's encrypted."

"Not much use, then," Udina said with a sigh. "I assume you can't decrypt it?"

"Not this level of encryption, no," Alenko said.

"And even if we could, us being the ones to crack it might be enough to cast doubt on whatever we find. What we need is someone impartial. Or at least someone who's less involved than we are," Anderson said.

Udina's eyes lit up at that. "I may have someone…let me see…" the ambassador flicked through several files on his screen before stopping on one. "Yes, here we are. Jondum Bau. He has a business on the citadel handling data security, and he's former STG. He's done work for the Council before, so his word should hold weight if he finds anything. Anderson, you and Alenko get the files to him, see what he can do," Udina said, fingers flying across the keyboard as he set a message ahead. Anderson headed out of the office, with Alenko close behind. Once they were gone, Udina turned to Williams.

"Chief Williams, I need to speak with Commander Shepard in private," he said. Ashley nodded and left the room without a word of complaint. The second the door closed, Udina's posture softened, a bit of the tension draining away as his shoulders sagged. He sat back down with a heavy sigh, looking several years older than he had moments ago.

"Vin, are you alright?" He asked, looking at her with concern plain on his face.

"Honestly, I have no idea. The headache the beacon gave me is gone, but I feel…I don't know, different somehow," she answered.

"This is a damned mess."

"You don't have to tell me that."

"You only see one aspect of the picture. There are already people panicking and pulling out of colonial projects that have been in the works for years. There's renewed anti-quarian sentiment, which Terra Firma has jumped on like a starving dog on a steak," Udina said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Vin sucked in a breath, her eyes widening.

"Shit. It's that bad?"

"And it's going to get worse long before it gets better," he said. "Harmony's bands, I never should've signed off on this Spectre nomination."

"That's crap and you know it," she said, giving him a small smile. "You believe in me too much not to."

"True," Udina conceded, "but it'd make me a damn sight happier if you'd gone into the Diplomatic Corps like you planned."

"Are we really going to have this argument again?" Shepard asked, folding her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow. Udina shook his head.

"No, you're right. We've already said everything that could be said on the subject. Now, you'd best prepare yourself for the Council. The hearing's in half an hour. I'll meet you at the tower," Udina said, standing and taking a deep breath. His posture returned to the straight-backed stance that he'd had when they'd first entered his office. Donnel the distant uncle became Ambassador Udina once again. Shepard nodded, and headed out the door, almost running into Williams as she turned the corner.

"Oh! Sorry, Williams," she said, taking a step back.

"Don't worry about it. What'd the Ambassador want?"

"Just wanted to ask me a few questions about what went down on Elendel Prime. Come on, we'd better get to the tower. Anderson and Alenko are probably already there," she said. Williams nodded in agreement. When they reached the lobby of the Embassy building, Ashley stopped dead in her tracks, then veered off to the side, where a man in a white jacket and pants was pacing back and forth.

"Excuse me, are you Samesh Bhatia?" She asked the man. He stopped pacing, turning to face Williams.

"I…yes, but how did you—?" He began.

"I'm Ashley Williams. I served with Nirali."

"Of course, of course," he said, "yes, I recognize you now."

"I'm so sorry about Nirali," she said. "She used to listen to recordings of your voice every night, before she went to sleep."

"I-I know. It is for Nirali that I am here. Her body has not been returned, and I have received no explanation as to why," he said. Shepard's eyebrows shot up at that.

"None? That's not right."

"Indeed. I have tried to speak to clerk Bosker, the man in charge of my wife's case, but he refuses to tell me anything," Samesh said mournfully. Shepard pressed her lips together.

"Where is this Bosker now?" She asked.

"The Embassies Lounge," he replied. Shepard nodded, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Samesh, wait here. I'm going to go do something about this," she said, turning and heading for the stairs at a brisk walk. Ashely caught up with her a moment later, but both of them stayed silent as they made their way up to the lounge.

Booker was easy enough to spot, being the only one wearing the insignia of the Diplomatic Corps. Shepard walked up to him, watching his eyes widen as he recognized her.

"Commander Shepard! My goodness. Your actions on Elendel Prime caused quite the stir in the Diplomatic Corps. What can I do for you?"

"I'm here about Nirali Bhatia," she said, taking a measure of satisfaction in the way Bosker winced.

"Ah, yes. You spoke to her husband, I imagine?"

"Yeah."

"I am truly sorry, but Nirali's body is of great value to the Alliance. Her wounds were unlike anything we have on record, and studying them may help us protect people from future attacks by the geth!"

"You're denying the man closure, Bosker."

"But commander! You of all people must understand how we have to do everything in our power to protect humanity!"

"Not if it means forgetting our humanity in the process," Shepard snapped, leaning in close. Bosker sighed, then nodded.

"I…alright. You've made your point. Please, tell Samesh that Nirali's body will be returned to him," he said, pulling up something on his omnitool.

"Thank you," Shepard said as she turned back towards the door.

Samesh was waiting exactly where he'd been.

"It's taken care of, Samesh. Nirali's coming home."

"Thank you, Commander," he said, taking her hand in both of his and shaking it. "This is…I must begin making the preparations for her funeral. Thank you so much."

"Samesh? You should know…Nirali loved you very much," Ashley said, her voice softening.

"I know. Thank you, Chief Williams," he replied, voice cracking slightly.

—

Alenko and Anderson were waiting at the foot of the stairs leading to the council chamber when Shepard and Ashley got to the tower.

"Come on, the hearing's already started," Anderson said, motioning for Shepard to follow him. When they reached the top of the stairs, Shepard stopped dead in her tracks. The Councilors stood on one side of a pit, that looked down into a small garden of flowering trees, and Udina stood on the other. That was a bit odd, in her opinion, but what drew her eyes was the massive hologram of Saren that loomed over everything.

"…As we have already stated, the geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is no evidence to indicate that Saren was involved," Councilor Tevos said. Next to her, Sparatus nodded.

"Citadel Security's investigation turned up no evidence to support your claims of treason, Ambassador," he said. At that, Udina let out a derisive laugh.

"It hasn't even been a full day, and you expect me to believe that C-Sec's investigation was anything remotely close to thorough?"

"We have an eyewitness who saw Saren murder Nihlus in cold blood!" Anderson said, joining Udina on the platform.

"The testimony of a terrified dockworker hardly amounts to much," Valern said. "Memory is a fickle thing under the best circumstances, let alone during something as traumatic as a geth attack."

"We should not be surprised that Anderson is the one bringing these charges against me," Saren said. "This report reads like cheap fiction. According to it, I stabbed Nihlus through the heart with a spike? Ludicrous and overly dramatic." Shepard, Udina, and Anderson all glanced at one another. They knew full well that it wasn't, but they could hardly bing up Hemalurgy in a public setting.

"The guy who made his hologram twenty feet tall is lecturing us about being melodramatic?" Shepard said, unable to keep her mouth shut. Saren narrowed his eyes, all of his attention now focused on her.

"Ah, and you must be the one who allowed the beacon to be destroyed. Typical of Anderson to choose a protégé as inept as he is."

"The mission to Elendel Prime was top secret," Shepard replied, "so how do you know what the objective was?"

"I _trained_ Nihlus. His files were sent to me when he died. And having read the reports, I have to say that I'm not impressed. But what can you expect from a _human_?"

"You complain about slander, then paint an entire species with the same brush?" Udina said, voice cool and even. Saren's jaw clenched briefly. Anderson took the brief lull in the conversation as an opportunity to step forward.

"Interesting that you should mention Nihlus's files," he said. "The ambassador asked someone to take a look at the data from his omnitool, and what he found was very intriguing."

A salarian in dark clothing stepped forward, Omnitool alight on his arm. Valern's eyes narrowed, and then he nodded to the other salarian.

"Mr. Bau," he said. "This is unexpected."

"Greetings, Councilors," he said, inclining his head. "I apologize for the suddenness of this. However, I suspect you'll want to see this."

Bau tapped a few keys on his omnitool. "Ambassador Udina contacted me earlier today, requesting that I decrypt some of the files from Agent Kyrik's omnitool.

"A request that should have gone to Citadel Security!" Sparatus snapped.

"Perhaps. Nevertheless, they came to me, counting on my reputation for discretion and professionalism. I only accessed the data with timestamps from the Elendel Prime mission itself. Most of it was Nihlus's personal logs, but I was able to recover this fragment from his recording equipment."

Bau waved his omnitool, and the screens on the Councilors' podiums flashed, then started to play something. Another screen activated in front of Udina, and Shepard could finally see what they were watching.

The screens showed only static at first, but that quickly resolved into a grainy view of the monorail station back on Elendel Prime. The perspective was odd, though, and it took Shepard a second to realize that the camera was recording from much closer to the ground than was normal. Onscreen, a turian approached. The video's quality wasn't fantastic, but it was more than good enough to identify Saren as he leaned closer to Nihlus, apparently kneeling next to him.

"Don't worry, Nihlus," the recording said. "I'll make it quick."

His arm moved, and a spray of blue blood landed on the camera's lens. The recording ended.

Every set of eyes in the chamber was now focused on Saren's hologram.

"Saren?" Sparatus asked, voice calm and precise. "I hope you have an explanation for this."

"A fabrication, obviously," he said, not missing a beat.

"That was my first thought as well," Bau said, "but the metadata on the file shows no sign of tampering, and altering it on as deep a level as I checked would take far more time than the humans had. The evidence is incontrovertible."

"This is preposterous!" Saren growled. "I will not stand here and be subjected to these outrageous accusations!"

His hologram vanished, and the Councilors shared a look.

"You have your evidence," Udina said, glaring at them, "Are you going to let him get away with this?"

Tevos shook her head. "Absolutely not. As of this moment, Saren Arterius is no longer a Spectre. We will have to discuss how best to deal with him."

The councilors stepped back from their podiums, deep in whispered conversation as they walked through a side door and out of sight. Udina exhaled, relief written all over his face. They headed back down the stairs, and Ashley and Alenko leapt to attention when they saw Captain Anderson.

"Thank the Survivor that worked," Udina said. But Anderson was still frowning.

"This isn't over, mark my words. Saren's going to be after us for this."

"You're probably right," Udina said. "We can't let the Council keep humanity out of this."

"Would they really do that?" Shepard asked.

"I prefer to assume the worst will happen. That way I'll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't," Udina replied dryly. "Saren's bound to have agents on the Citadel. Find them. Find everything you can, and drag all of his dirty secrets into the light. I'm counting on you for this, Shepard."

"Got it. Where should I start?"

"When Anderson and I got here, there was a C-Sec officer arguing with his boss back there," Alenko said, hooking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the tower entrance. "I asked him about it, and apparently he was involved in the investigation into Saren. Maybe he'll have something we can use?"

"Good thinking," Udina said. "His name was Garrus Vakarian. You can probably find him by asking around at C-Sec headquarters."

"You might want to talk to a volus named Barla Von, over in the financial district," Anderson said. "Rumor has it he works for the Shadow Broker. If anyone knows where Saren's hiding the skeletons in his closet, it's the Broker."

Shepard nodded, then turned and headed for the elevator, Alenko and Williams right behind her.

—

"Barla Von?" Shepard asked, stepping into the office. The volus behind the desk nodded, his respirator hissing as he took a breath.

"And you must be Shepard, of the Scadrial-clan," Von answered. "What brings you to my humble offices?"

"Information. I hear you work for the Shadow Broker." she said. Von nodded.

"I do work for anyone who can afford my services. But you are correct, and you've come to the right place. Would I be right in guessing that this has to do with Saren Arterius?"

"You would be."

"Then today is your lucky day," Von said, spreading his arms, palms up. "Normally, such information would come at a high price. However, I am willing to give you what you want, free of charge."

Shepard's eyebrows shot up. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch. Saren has betrayed the Shadow Broker, and the Broker does not take treachery well,"

"Gee, teaming up with the geth and attacking a human colony pissed people off? Who'd've guessed?" Ashley said, rolling her eyes.

"Saren is no fool. His betrayal of the Broker makes no sense, unless there was something monumental at stake," Von said. "In any case, the Broker has hired a krogan mercenary to deal with the problem. Last I heard, he was paying C-Sec a visit. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him before he leaves the C-Sec HQ."

"Thanks," Shepard said, already walking towards the door.

—

C-Sec HQ's lobby was about the same as any other police station in the galaxy. Knots of officers and civilians milled around, the civilians asking for help or complaining about something, or being led away in handcuffs, while the officers plugged away at work at their desks.

The krogan was easy to spot, since he was larger than anyone else in the room.

"Making threats again, Wrex?" the officer in front of the krogan asked. "We've already had to warn you once."

"Fist's the one you should be warning. I will kill him. Unless any of you cremlings want to try and stop me?" He stared at the officers before him expectantly. When none of them stepped forward, he chuckled and turned away.

"Wrex?" Shepard called, causing the krogan to turn.

"What do you want, human?"

"You're going after someone who works for Saren. I need information on him. Seems like we could help each other out," she said. Wrex chuckled.

"Saren, eh? Sounds like he's pissed off a lot of people."

"To say the least," Shepard agreed. "What do you say?"

"Seek the enemy of your enemy, and there you shall find a friend," Wrex said, in the tone of someone repeating a quote. "Alright. You have a name, human?"

"Shepard. Before we hit Fist, I want to find a C-Sec officer named Garrus Vakarian. One of my squad overheard him arguing with his boss about the investigation into Saren, so I figure he might know something useful."

Wrex nodded, then grabbed a passing officer by the arm.

"Where's Vakarian?" He asked, fixing the salarian with a glare.

"Med clinic!" the officer replied, eyes even wider than the norm for his species. Wrex let him go, and stomped toward the elevator.

"Med clinic? You couldn't have gotten anything more specific? There must be a ton of them on the Citadel," Williams said.

"He meant the one just a floor up from the entrance to this elevator," Wrex said, "I know how to get information. I've been doing this since before your great great grandfather was born."

—

Wrex held up a hand when they reached the med clinic's door.

"Something's going on in there. Stay quiet," he said. Shepard nodded, and caught the sound of raised voices from the other side of the door. It was too thick for her to tell what they were saying.

 _No sense standing around waiting_ , she thought, and tapped the green haptic display. The door hissed open.

The first thing Shepard saw inside the clinic was Officer Vakarian, crouching behind a low dividing wall. The second thing was a woman, presumably Dr. Michel, being held at gunpoint by a man wearing a frankly silly-looking visor.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" the doctor said.

"Good. And if Garrus comes sniffing around, you'd best keep that mouth shut, or—," the man turned, noticing them at last. "You want something, woman?" he asked. His fellow thugs turned to face her, but none of them had their guns out yet.

"I do _now_ ," Shepard said, tapping a burst of speed to draw her pistol before the thugs could finish drawing theirs.

The leader scowled, then grabbed Dr. Michel in a headlock, pulling her in front of him and pressing his gun to the side of her head. The doctor screamed, squirming to try and get free of the man's grip.

"Back off, or the doc gets some new ventilation in her skull!" he shouted.

"You sure you wanna do that?" Shepard asked, starting to burn steel. While the gunman's attention was focused on her, Vakarian managed to sneak around the wall.

"I said back the fuck off!" the man shouted, pointing his gun at Shepard. That was the opening that Vakarian had been waiting for. He sprang up, firing twice at the man. He'd only been wearing a personal barrier generator, and a weak one at that. The first shot hit the shields, and the second passed right through them, as well as the man's head. His arms went limp as he fell, allowing Dr. Michel to scramble away from the rest of the mercenaries. She ran to the corner, whimpering in terror at the violence.

The other thugs opened fire, but Alenko waved his hand, creating a barrier between the thugs and everyone else. The shots ricocheted off the barrier and one of the attackers fell, clutching his arm and screaming. The last gunman let out a yell of rage and lobbed a grenade over the top of the barrier, rolling into cover with his wounded comrade.

Tapping speed again, Shepard pushed on the incoming grenade, sending it back to its owner before leaping backwards, getting as far away from the explosive as she could. Ashely and Alenko were right behind her, as was Vakarian, having grabbed Dr. Michel around the waist and hauled her out of the way.

The grenade went off, filling the far end of the room with a fireball. Wrex, who barely looked concerned, called up his own barrier, the wall of blue light so thick and opaque that it seemed like a solid object. It took most of the force of the explosion, directing it back toward the pair of gunmen and leaving everyone else untouched, if a little shaken.

Shepard got to her feet, blinking away the spots in her vision and trying to hear past the ringing in her ears.

"Everyone alright?" she called, louder than she meant to.

 _That's what I get for not wearing a helmet,_ she thought.

"I—I think so," Dr. Michel said shakily.

"Good. Who were those men?"

"Fist sent them. They were here about the quarian."

"Quarian?"

"A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it. She was scared, on the run from whoever did it. She asked me about the Shadow Broker, wanted to trade information for a safe place to hide."

"And where is she now?" Shepard asked, already suspecting what the doctor's answer would be.

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

Vakarian shook his head. "Not anymore he's not. Fist betrayed the Broker. He's working for Saren now."

"And the Broker's not happy about that," Wrex said. Dr. Michel's eyes widened.

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even by his standards."

"That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth betraying the Shadow Broker for."

"Evidence," Shepard said, her eyes narrowing. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Did she mention anything about him? Or the geth?"

"Yes," Dr. Michel said. "She said the information she wanted to trade had something to do with the geth."

"Looks like we need to go talk to Fist," Shepard said, turning for the door. "Alenko, Williams, you two stay here and make sure no one else comes after the doctor. Vakarian, Wrex, with me."

—

Chorra's Den wasn't far from the med clinic, but when they got there the door was locked and the neon sign had been turned off.

"They know we're coming," Wrex said, eyeing the door with a slight smirk, as though it amused him. It probably did, come to think of it. A single door wasn't going to do much to stop a krogan.

"Hold on. Before we go in, tell me about Fist," Shepard said. What kind of defenses is he likely to have?"

"People with guns in the main room of the bar. He's got a krogan bouncer—" Vakarian said, eyes moving back and forth as he read something on his visor. Wrex cleared his throat, interrupting Vakarian.

"The bouncer's mine," Wrex said. Vakarian nodded.

"—A krogan bouncer that Wrex has dibs on," he continued. "He's got some kind of defense setup in his office. Probably drones of some sort. Oh, and he's a soother."

"Damn," Shepard muttered, rummaging in one of the pouches on her belt. "Dammit. Didn't bring my helmet and I forgot some emergency aluminum foil! Of course that happens on the day I have to fight a soother."

"Tough luck," Wrex said, without a trace of sympathy. "Just don't get in my way." He unhooked his own helmet from his belt and pulled it on, while Vakarian did the same.

"Just try not to kill Fist until after we've gotten him to talk?" Shepard said.

"I make no promises," he said, and set his feet apart. A field of twisting blue light sprang up around his fist, and Wrex slammed it into the center of the door. It buckled inward with the screech of crumpling metal. Wrex's second punch was accompanied not by a warp, but by a biotic throw. The impact blasted the door off its hinges, sending it flying into the bar. Bottles shattered as the door slammed into the wall, and the bartender slumped to the ground, a nasty dent in his skull.

"Warned you what would happen if you came back, Wrex!" the krogan bouncer shouted from the other side of the room.

Wrex's answer came in the form of a biotic shockwave, a line of explosions that lashed out from his fist, racing along the floor and slamming into the bouncer. The shockwave flung him off his feet, his back slamming against the wall. A biotic aura blazed to life around Wrex and shot him across the room, air rushing in to fill the space where he'd been with a 'thud'. The bouncer had just managed to get to his feet when Wrex slammed into him, the charge flinging the bouncer back against the wall again.

While Wrex was dealing with his opponent, Shepard had taken cover from the asari who was firing on her from the dancer's platform above the bar. Bullets struck the wall above her, sending up sparks. Shepard chanced a peek out from her hiding spot, but another round shot past her, close enough to disturb her hair. Shepard swore and ducked back behind the wall.

"Vakarian, think you can get the sniper?" Shepard shouted. He nodded, pulling out his own sniper rifle.

"You draw their fire, I'll deal with her," he said, nodding at the gunmen across the room.

Shepard traced the metal lines, finding the ones that went to the thugs' guns and pushing on them. The guns jerked, but none of them lost their grip. The apparent leader, a batarian, shouted something at his underlings, gesturing towards her. She couldn't make out what he was saying from here, but she doubted it was complimentary. She pushed again, this time aiming for the chairs and tables in front of them.

The furniture shot forward, slamming into the men and bowling the two humans over. The batarian, on the other hand, twisted out of the way, firing on her with a massive pistol. The shot struck her barriers head-on, making them flash as they stopped the round. Shepard returned fire before he could get another shot off, bringing her pistol off and putting a cluster of shots right through the batarian's chest. Shepard felt a vicious little twinge of satisfaction as she watched him fall, and immediately tried to shove that to the back of her mind.

Her barriers flashed as someone shot at her, the impacts depleting her shields far more than she was comfortable with. Tapping a burst of speed, Vin dove for cover, leaping behind the bar. A quick look over it showed her that the men she'd knocked down had gotten to their feet again. Vin pushed on another set of chairs, slamming them into the men and knocking them over again. She followed that up with her shotgun, blowing a hole in each man's torso and covering the wall behind them with blood.

Something large flew past her, slamming into the wall and leaving a sizable dent. It turned out to be the bouncer, no doubt launched by Wrex's biotics. His head had been crushed, his brow-plates cracked and falling away, face covered in orange blood.

"Vakarian, you done up there?" Shepard shouted. A moment later, he answered her by climbing down from the platform. He made an odd, warbling sound when he caught sight of the dead krogan.

"Damn. Remind me never to piss you off, Wrex," he said.

"If you have to be reminded of that, then I've been giving you too much credit."

Shepard vaulted over the bar, and made her way towards the hallway that led to Fist's office.

When the next door opened, Shepard found herself staring at two men pointing guns at her, their hands shaking.

"St-stay back or we'll shoot!" one of them said, his voice just as unsteady as his hands. Shepard held up her hands, palms out, in a 'calm down' gesture.

"You two really ought to think about finding another place to work," she said. The two men looked at each other, then lowered their guns with twin sighs of relief.

"Yeah, you're right," one of them said.

"I never liked working for that asshole anyway," the other replied, nodding. Shepard stepped out of the way and let them pass, watching as they exited the club.

"Would've been quicker to kill them," Wrex said. Shepard shook her head.

"Quickest option's not always the best one," she said, standing in front of the door to Fist's office. She could feel his soothing already, like a leaden blanket on her emotions. They needed to end this fast.

—

They burst through the doors, and the weight of the Soothing intensified. Gritting her teeth, Vin focused on her emotions, trying to stoke them higher despite Fist's interference.

Wrex and Garrus had aluminum-lined helmets, something that Fist was all too aware of. He focused on them first, calling up an automated turret on either side of his desk with the press of a button. The machines hummed to life, opening fire and driving Vakarian and Wrex back behind cover. What was more, there were no metal lines pointing to the turrets. The bastard had made sure to get defenses that were allomancy-proof.

Thankfully, he hadn't done the same for the room's decor. There was an abstract metal sculpture sitting on a table, and Shepard pushed it at Fist with all the force she could bring to bear. It slammed into his stomach, but all that managed was to knock him back a few steps. Shepard growled, and drew her pistol.

Fist's soothing intensified, and Shepard couldn't help the sudden gasp as her emotions drained away even more. But she didn't falter, centering her sights on one of the turrets. She squeezed the trigger, and didn't stop shooting until that turret fell to the floor.

There was a 'crack' as Garrus fired his sniper rifle at the second turret, and that one fell too.

Wrex, meanwhile, had gone for the direct route, stomping towards Fist and ignoring the man's gunfire. Fist tried to back up, but all that did was put him up against the wall, with an angry krogan in front of him.

His soothing died off, and the sudden return of her emotions was almost too much for Shepard. She slumped against the wall, taking several deep breaths as she got herself under control. Only then did she walk over to the man, sending him sprawling onto his back with a well-placed kick to the side of his knee.

"Start talking," she said, pointing her gun down at Fist, "where's the quarian?"

"She's not here! I don't know where she is, I swear!" he said, waving his hands in front of his face.

"If he doesn't know where she is, then he's useless. And I've got a job to do here," Wrex said, cracking his knuckles. Fist blanched.

"I don't know where she is, but I can tell you where she's gonna be!" he said. "She said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself!"

Wrex snorted. "Face-to-face? Even I got hired through an intermediary."

"Yeah, well, she didn't know that," Fist said, lowering Shepard's opinion of him another few notches. "I told her I'd set up a meeting, but when she gets there, Saren's men will be waiting for her."

Shepard drew her shotgun, pointing it at the bridge of Fist's nose and watching his eyes cross as he tried to stay focused on it.

"Where and when?" She asked.

"About five minutes, in the back alley by the markets. You can make it if you hurry," Fist replied.

"Alright, let's mo—," Shepard started to speak, but the sharp sound of Wrex's rifle silenced her as he blew Fist's head apart.

"Whoa! What the hell was that?" Garrus shouted, recoiling from Wrex in shock.

"I was hired to deal with Fist. I don't leave jobs half-done."

"He was an unarmed prisoner!" Vin snapped, rounding on the krogan.

"Galaxy's better off without him. How many people do you think died because of him. Now are we gonna save the quarian or not?" Shepard nodded, grabbing an OSD off Fist's desk as they left. Maybe they'd find something useful on it.

—

Tali stood stiffly, trying not to leet the pain from the gunshot wound bother her.

Trying, and failing miserably.

 _Some Pilgrimage this turned out to be_ , she thought. _Only away from the Fleet a month and I've already gotten myself in so far over my head that I'm looking at those ugly deep-sea fish._

A tureen in dark armor made his way towards her, flanked by a trio of salarians. Her nerves were already on edge from constantly looking over her shoulder the past couple days, and something about the way these men moved set them off even more. Carefully, Tali keyed in a few commands on her omnitool, just in case.

"Did you bring the data?" the turian asked, stepping far too close to her. Tali backed away, shuddering as he ran a hand along her arm.

"Where's Fist?"

"He'll be here. Now, do you have it?" the turian repeated, more insistent this time.

"No way!" Tali snapped, drawing her pistol. "The deal's off!"

"Fine," he said with a sigh, "looks like we're doing this the hard way."

The salarians spread out, blocking one end of the alley, and the turian raised his gun.

So Tali activated the command she'd put into her omni earlier, triggering every defensive program on her omnitool at once in a blinding flash.

—

An explosion sounded up ahead, the sound bouncing off the alley walls. Vin tapped more speed and sprinted ahead. She bounced off the wall as she rounded a corner, but ignored the pain in her shoulder and kept on running.

She nearly ran into the quarian, and they both skidded to a halt.

"Oh thank the ancestors!" she breathed. "Please, help me, I—."

"Got set up by Fist, I know," Vin said, taking in the four unconscious figures on the ground. "Looks like you've got things handled, though."

"I knocked them out, but they could get up any moment," she said, fingers tapping nervously on the butt of her pistol. Footsteps behind Shepard signaled Wrex and Vakarian's arrival, their guns already drawn.

"Looks like we missed all the fun," Wrex said, prodding the unconscious turian with his foot. Of course, a prod to a krogan was a kick to a normal person. Vakarian sighed, already unhooking several sets of restraints from his belt.

"I doubt they'll know anything useful about Saren, but we should take these guys in anyway," he said. "I'll call it in."

"Not that I'm not grateful for the help, but who exactly are you?" the quarian asked warily.

"Commander Vin Shepard, Alliance Marines. I hear you have some information on Saren Arterius?"

"Yes! That's what got me into this mess in the first place!"

"Great. Come with me, and we can protect you. That information is something our ambassador's going to want to see."

—

Udina pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long-suffering sigh.

"Shepard, I know I told you to dig up whatever dirty secrets you could find on Saren, but I didn't expect you to use explosives to do the digging," he said. "I sincerely hope you've got something for me after all that."

Vin couldn't help but grin as she gestured to Tali. "Oh, we've got something alright. Tali here has more information linking Saren to the geth."

Udina raised an eyebrow. "Really? And how did you come by this information, miss…?"

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Ambassador. I salvaged it from a geth memory core."

"Wait, I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died," Alenko said.

"They do, but we're the ones who created them. If you're fast enough, you can get something out of them. I'd heard about the attack on your colony, and managed to track a group of geth to the Hades Gamma cluster and set a trap for them. I was able to recover a few files. It's not much, but…"

"It's more than we had before," Anderson said. "Please, miss Zorah, show us what you found."

—

"Elendel Prime was a victory. We're one step closer to finding the Conduit," Saren's voice rang out across the Council chambers.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," the female voice said.

"If you needed more proof, you've got it," Udina said. All three Councilors wore expressions of barely concealed anger.

"This evidence is incontrovertible, Ambassador," Sparatus said. "Saren has already been stripped of his status, but rest assured that he will be made to answer for his crimes."

"That may not be as easy as we had hoped," Tevos said grimly. "I recognized the other voice; it was Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" Shepard asked.

"Matriarchs are Asari in the final stage of their lives. They act as mentors and guides for my people. Benezia in particular is a powerful biotic, one who can give Saren both money and followers."

"What about these 'Reapers'?" Valern asked, "what are they?"

"Miss Zorah, I believe you can answer this better?" Udina said, stepping aside for the quarian. The girl stepped forward, shrinking in on herself a little as she became the focus of everyone's attention.

"Well, the information was somewhat garbled when I found it, but the programming associated with it had connotations of absolute value. In an organic mind, I'd call it worship. Whatever these Reapers are, the geth see them as gods, and Saren as their prophet," Tali said, looking down at her omnitool.

"So we're not just dealing with the geth, we're dealing with religious fanatic geth?" Shepard said. "They can't seriously believe that, can they?"

"Geth barely have a concept of falsehood," Tali replied, "All geth share information with one another. They would have no way of suspecting that Saren might be manipulating them."

"What if he's not, though?" Anderson said.

"That's immaterial at this point," Udina replied, stepping forward to address the Council once again. "Saren wants this Conduit, and he's shown he's willing to commit atrocities to get it. He has to be stopped! He's somewhere in the Traverse, so send in your fleet!"

Valern shook his head. "A fleet cannot track down one man, Ambassador."

"Perhaps not, but it could secure the entire region! Prevent the geth from attacking any more human colonies!"

"Or it could spark a war with the Terminus Systems!" Sparatus retorted. "It simply isn't worth it to be dragged into such a massive conflict over a few dozen human colonies!"

Udina opened his mouth to reply, anger radiating off of him like a furnace, when Tevos raised her hands.

"Ambassador, please! There is another solution. One that does not require fleets or armies."

"Absolutely not! It's too soon, humanity isn't ready for the responsibilities of joining the Spectres!"

"Whether or not _humanity_ is ready, Commander Shepard has proven her capabilities," Valern said. He and Tevos looked to Sparatus, who gave a grudging nod.

"Commander Shepard, step forward," Tevos said. Vin walked to the edge of the platform, taking a deep breath to calm herself. All around the council chamber, people were leaning forward, their eyes fixed on her.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted the rights and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel, by unanimous decision," Tevos continued. When she stopped speaking, Valern picked up immediately.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol," Tevos said, the very picture of dignity. "They are the embodiment of courage, determination, and perseverance. They are the right-hand of the council, and agents of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," Sparatus continued, "they are the protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human Spectre, commander. This is a great accomplishment, both for you and your species," Tevos said, inclining her head in a respectful nod.

—

Vin stepped away from the speaker's platform, and started for the stairs. She came to a halt as she saw the people gathering at the bottom, all of them staring at her. There were even a few reporters in the crowd. Vin swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

"This way," Udina said, guiding her away from the stairs. He led her and Tali to an alcove off to the side of the council chamber, out of view of the spectators and reporters. Ashley and Alenko were already there, waiting. Vin breathed a sigh of relief, comforted by the presence of her squad, even those she'd only known for a short time.

"Congratulations, Commander," Ashley said, smiling. "Saren's not going to know what hits him."

"Oh, he'll know exactly what hit him, I promise," Shepard replied. Ashley's eyes flashed with anger and approval.

"You'll need a ship, if you're going after Saren," Udina said. "Anderson, come with me. We have work to do."

"Vin, you'd better go and prepare yourself. I'll contact you as soon as we have something," Anderson said.

"Yes, sir," Vin said, saluting him. "Um, sirs, is there a back way out of here? I'd rather not deal with those reporters at the moment."

Anderson chuckled. "Take that staircase to the right, and it will get you to the elevators without having to go through the crowd. Good luck."

—

"Commander Shepard?"

Vin sighed, turning to face the reporter who'd been waiting at the bottom of the elevator. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I'm Emily Wong, with FCC News Service," the woman said brightly.

"I'm afraid I can't really talk about Spectre matters at the moment, Miss Wong," Vin said. But Wong shook her head.

"Oh, I know, that's not why I'm here. I'm investigating organized crime in the Wards. I'd heard you were involved with whatever went down in Chorra's den, and I was hoping you might be able to tell me something?" she asked.

"Miss Wong, it's your lucky day. I found this OSD in Fists office after the fighting was done. I don't know what's on it, but maybe you can get some use out of it," Vin said, handing her the OSD. Wong's eyes lit up.

"Oh, thank you! This is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much, Commander!" Wong said, rushing off.

"So, how's it feel to be the first Human Spectre?" Vakarian asked, walking over to her.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out," Vin replied. Garrus chuckled.

"You want any help going after Saren?"

"Don't you have a job?" Alenko asked. At that, Vakarian looked away, scratching the back of his neck.

"That's…kind of up in the air. Executor Pallin wasn't too happy about me helping you with your investigation. There may have been some shouting." Ashley nodded in understanding.

"CO cares more about procedure than results. I've been there."

"Well, if you're offering, how can I refuse?" Vin said. "I don't know how long we'll be gone for, or what kind of ship we'll end up with, so you should probably pack your things. Meet us at the Alliance docking bays in a few hours."

Vakarian nodded, giving her a Turian salute before heading away.

—

At the Alliance docks, Anderson and Udina didn't just have a ship for her.

They were giving her the Normandy.

"Captain Anderson?" Vin asked, giving him a questioning look. He shook his head.

"I'm stepping down from the Normandy. You need her. She's fast, quiet, and you know the crew."

"There's more to it. Come on, sir, I know there's something political going on here. I lived with Udina for almost three years." Anderson's lips twisted into a sad, regretful smile.

"Twenty years ago, I was where you are. I was a candidate for Spectre, and Saren was the one who oversaw me. The mission went wrong. Saren killed innocents and pinned the blame on me. I had my chance, and I lost it. This is your time, Shepard."

"He's not going to escape justice this time. I promise," Vin said fiercely.

"The first thing we've got to do is find the Conduit. Saren's ahead of us there," Anderson said. "He's got geth going through the Traverse with a fine-toothed comb, looking for clues."

"While we don't have any clear information on where Saren is, there is something I found out," Udina said. "Saren recently came into a controlling stock of a biotech firm on Noveria, named Binary Helix. And however he got it, it wasn't legal."

"How not legal are we talking? Assassination?"

"No. It was a spousal deferral from Benezia T'Soni. And there's no marriage on the books on any records system in Citadel space."

"Then we start with T'Soni. However she's involved, she's in deep."

"My thoughts exactly," Udina agreed. "He could be controlling her, blackmailing her. Benezia has a daughter that he could be threatening. Her last known whereabouts were at a Prothean archaeological site in the Knossos system."

"Thank you, sir," Vin said, saluting Anderson. He nodded, and headed away, leaving her and Udina alone. Vin gave him a wry smile. "Don't worry, sir. I won't make too much of a mess for you out there." Udina shook his head.

"I'm not worried about that. Just stay safe, for my sake as much as your own." He placed his hands on her shoulders, meeting Vin's eyes. "Spectres are supposed to operate on their own, but just say the word and I'll call in every favor I have to deal with Saren."

"I know, uncle," Vin replied, pulling him into a brief embrace, before boarding the Normandy.

—

While she waited for the last few crew members, along with Wrex and Garrus, Vin ventured down into the cargo bay. She found Ashley there, busy at the weapons bench. She stood up straight when she noticed Vin, giving her a salute.

"At ease, chief. I just wanted to talk."

"What about?" Ashley asked, relaxing a bit.

"The last mission. I want your thoughts, if you don't mind."

"Honestly? I wish you'd gotten there sooner. I appreciate the rescue, but…"

"But you wish we'd saved your unit."

"Yes, ma'am," Ashley said, glancing down at the floor, her eyebrows drawing together. "If I'd just been more alert, we wouldn't have been taken down by an ambush."

"Don't blame yourself, Williams. The geth are perfect ambushers. They don't move unless they need to, they don't breathe, they barely make noise, and no one expected to see them attack a human colony so far outside the Perseus Veil."

"I—I know. I know I shouldn't blame myself. But it's hard."

"I know what it's like. Constantly going over events in your head, thinking 'if I'd just been smarter, or faster, or stronger, or just better then they'd still be alive'. But you can't let yourself fall into that pit, Ash. All you can do is move forward, and honor their memories by making sure it doesn't happen to anyone else," Vin said, putting a hand on Ashley's shoulder. Ashley nodded, giving Shepard a firm look.

"Yes ma'am. You can count on me. No geth are gonna get us on my watch."

—

"Heard what happened to Captain Anderson," Joker said as Shepard entered the bridge. "Survives a hundred battles, and then he gets taken down by backroom politics? That's not right. And you know they'll do the same thing to you if you don't bring Saren in, right?"

"Well, if I needed any more motivation to bring him to justice, I guess job security'll do," Vin replied.

"Hey, everyone on this ship's behind you one-hundred percent, Commander. But, uh, if you've got anything to say to them, now's probably a good time." Joker said. Vin nodded, and leaned forward, speaking into the intercom.

"This is Commander Vin Shepard. We've got our orders. Find Saren before he finds the Conduit and bring him to justice. I won't lie to you, this isn't going to be easy. Humanity has stood apart from the other species for too long. This is our time, our chance to step forward, and do our part for the galaxy, and to show them what humanity is made of! Our enemy knows we're coming. Saren's followers will be waiting for us when we go into the Traverse. But we'll be ready for them, too. Humanity has to do this. Not just for our own sake. Not just to avenge the people of Elendel Prime. We have to bring Saren to justice for the sake of every single species in Citadel Space! Humanity didn't give up and surrender, even when our very world was being torn apart by Ruin. We survived, we fought, and we made the world a safer place for everyone!"

Joker gave Vin a slightly awestruck look as she turned off the intercom. "Wow, Commander. Didn't know you could give speeches like that."

"I lived with Udina for three years, Joker. You hang around politicians long enough, you learn how to talk. Now let's get going. Set a course for the Knossos System."

—

 **Codex Entry: Feruchemy**

The second of Scadrial's 'Metallic Arts,' Feruchemy relies on the same metals as Allomancy. But where an Allomancer gains power from the metals, a Feruchemist uses the metals to store attributes for later use. While storing these attributes, a feruchemist is less capable with them, but tapping these attributes later allows for much greater abilities than a person would normally be capable of. The feruchemical metals and their abilities are as follows;

Steel=Stores physical speed

Iron=Stores physical weight

Tin=Stores senses

Pewter=Stores physical strength

Zinc=Stores mental speed

Brass=Stores warmth

Copper=Stores memories

Bronze=Stores wakefulness

Duralumin=Stores Connection

Aluminum=Stores Identity

Nicrosil=Stores investiture

Chromium=Stores fortune

Gold=Stores health

Electrum=Stores determination

Cadmium=Stores breath

Bendalloy=Stores energy (nutrition and calories)


	3. Chapter 3: Therum

Vin steered the Mako through the blasted, rocky landscape, silently thanking Harmony for the existence of air-conditioning.

"So, Wrex, you work for the Shadow Broker?" Tali asked.

"I work for anyone who'll pay me. Makes things simpler that way."

"Anyone?" Shepard asked. "Even a Salarian?"

"I might charge them higher rates, but yeah."

"Even after what they did to the Krogan?"

"Hating an entire species is a waste of time and energy. I prefer to keep my vendettas on a personal level."

"Huh," Shepard said.

"Commander, you've got incoming!" Joker shouted, his voice almost drowned out by the intercom's static and the roar of the geth dropship passing overhead.

"Yeah, I see it," Shepard replied. "Williams, get on the gun!"

Ashley leapt into action, the controls for the Mako's weapons coming down from the ceiling and folding out from the passenger-side dash. She pressed her face to the viewfinder, seeking her target.

"Oh hell," Williams swore when she caught sight of what the dropship had left for them.

Twin blasts of plasma slammed into the Mako, pushing it back and creating a wash of crackling electricity as the barriers tried to disperse the energy of the attack. Williams' first shot went wide, the machine gun sending up bursts of dust and rock as it chewed up the ground.

Vin swore as the geth began to charge their cannons for another blast, and slammed her foot down on the gas. The Mako surged forward, and any bystander unlucky enough to be nearby would have sworn she intended to drive straight into the bolts of plasma.

At the last second before they would have hit, Vin switched on the thrusters, sending the Mako leaping over one of the Armatures.

Vin was already burning steel, and as the Mako flew through the air she tracked the thick blue line that pointed at the second Armature. A fraction of a second before the Mako was directly above the machine, Vin deactivated the thrusters, adjusted the drive core, and let gravity do the rest.

The Mako landed with a metallic 'crunch,' and Shepard didn't waste any time, flooring it again and jerking the wheel sharply, trusting in Williams to be ready to fire.

She didn't disappoint, opening fire the moment the undamaged armature was visible in the windshield. The missile hit first, exploding against the geth's shields, and Williams didn't give it a chance to recover. The machine gun didn't stop roaring until the armature was a pile of scrap.

Something hit the Mako from the side, pushing it to the very edge of the lava pool and making the shields' power drop sharply.

"Damn!" Vin muttered, seeing the geth she'd landed on getting to its feet. Or whatever it had at the end of its legs.

Again, Williams proved that Anderson hadn't made a mistake bringing her onto the Normandy. She swung the machine gun around, firing off a burst that ripped through the Armature's shields and plating with ease. Its single, blazing eye winked out.

"Are you supposed to use the vehicle itself as a weapon?" Tali asked, a touch shakily. Even through the opaque faceplate, Vin could tell that her eyes were wide.

"Probably not," she admitted, making sure that she'd switched the eezo core back to its standard setting. She'd screwed that up _one time_ in basic, and the rest of her squad had never let her forget it. "I'm guessing there'll be more of those ahead?"

"Probably," the Quarian replied. "That dropship could hold plenty of Armatures and troopers, plus a Colossus or two."

"At least we won't be bored," Wrex said with a chuckle, Williams just sighed.

* * *

It wasn't long until they encountered another roadblock, this one of a slightly more literal variety. A large metal gate had been erected across the canyon, blocking the way ahead. Of more immediate concern were the turrets on either side of the gate.

A rocket exploded against the stone, and Vin hurriedly threw the Mako into reverse, getting back behind a curve in the canyon walls that shielded them from view.

"Only a fool punches a Nathack in the mouth," Wrex remarked. "You've got to go around behind it and pull its tail."

"I have no idea what a Nathack is," Vin replied, "but I am definitely in favor of not getting hit by rockets." She shifted back to drive and gunned the engine, speeding forward and heading down a side path before the turrets could open fire again.

"Breed of Greatshell," Wrex said. "They have some of the worst peripheral vision on Tuchanka, but they're vicious and territorial."

"Turret!" Tali shouted. Ashley had already started moving, sending a missile streaking towards it and opening fire with the machine Turret's shields crumbled beneath Williams' barrage, but that didn't stop it from firing off another missile at them. Vin slammed her foot down on the thruster pedal, catapulting the Mako up and over the missile.

The guns roared again the second the Mako's wheels hit the ground, reducing the turret to a pile of smoking metal.

"Nice shooting, Williams," Shepard said, giving the woman a small smile.

"Don't thank me yet, commander," Williams said, gesturing at the sensor display. Several dots had appeared on the radar, and the rest of the display was indicating massive energy output ahead.

"Enough of this," Wrex grunted, reaching for the door handle. "I need to stretch my legs." And before anyone could object, the Krogan leapt out of the Mako and set off at a run. Vin sighed and climbed out after him, followed by Tali and Williams

A rocket whizzed past her, close enough to ruffle her hair in its wake. Ahead, Shepard caught a glimpse of several crimson-armored geth, each one bearing a rocket launcher.

"Tali, please tell me you can do something to slow them down," Shepard asked, ducking behind a mound of stone.

"They're jamming me!" Tali said, fingers dancing over her Omnitool's interface. "I might be able to do something, but you'll need to take out whichever one of the geth is broadcasting the interference."

"Right. Guess we do this the hard way," Vin said, burning steel. And that gave her an unpleasant surprise. The metal lines pointing to the geth were very faint, and a couple of them didn't have any metal lines at all.

They must be using aluminum, she realized.

Well, that meant she'd have to do this the hard way. Vin tapped speed, and became a blur.

* * *

Something flew past Ashley. She spun around, thinking that another rocket-geth had managed to sneak behind them. But all she saw was the Mako, parked several meters back, and the Quarian taking cover behind some rocks. Ashley turned back around, aiming her rifle at the spot where she'd last seen one of the geth.

Somehow, it was already down, smoke curling up from a hole in its chest.

Ashley blinked, perplexed. Wrex too far away to have done that.

Another geth moved out of cover, and Ashley brought her rifle to her shoulder again. But Shepard got to it first. The blur that had passed by earlier stopped in front of the geth, becoming Commander Shepard with her shotgun pressed against its eye.

She pulled the trigger, and the geth's head exploded in a shower of metal and sparking wires. Shepard sprinted away again, moving before the geth's body hit the ground.

* * *

As a group, the geth had three centuries of experience fighting organics. Unfortunately for these particular geth, that experience was mostly limited to Quarians. While they weren't exactly fragile, the geth's creators had proved relatively easy to put down.

Unlike, say, a Krogan.

One geth, a particularly large platform in white plating, slammed its fists into Wrex, knocking him back a few steps. It wasn't much, but that proved to be enough for the Shock Trooper to hit him with a burst of electricity that scrambled his nerves. For most species, that voltage would've been fatal. Even for some younger Krogan.

Urdnot Wrex was a Battlemaster, and he was made of sterner stuff. He pulled himself to his feet, growling deep in his throat. The geth fired at him again, the shot piercing his barrier and drilling past his armor. Wrex ignored the pain. With a roar, he thrust his hand forward at the geth.

A blue glow surrounded the machine, twisting and shifting around it. The geth tried to fire again, but the Warp was wreaking havoc with its aim, and Wrex sidestepped the shots with ease. As he fought, Wrex's breathing settled into a rhythm. It didn't calm him, precisely. This wasn't a calming rhythm. It was one of surety and confidence, one for a warrior who knew that the enemy he fought was no match for him. Wrex lost himself to the rhythm, and the geth fell before him.

* * *

Vin glanced around, expecting more geth, but all she saw were the broken shells of the ones they'd already dealt with.

"Everyone alright?" she shouted.

"All clear, Commander!" Williams answered. Wrex just grunted, bringing his foot down on one geth's head. Tali, meanwhile, had knelt down next to a geth, and was searching the synthetic for something.

"Tali?"

"Oh, sorry Commander," she said, standing and brushing some dust off her knees. "Just seeing if I could find anything in its memory core about what the geth were doing here. No luck, though."

Shepard shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. I have a feeling we're gonna encounter plenty more geth before we're done here. Now let's get moving."

* * *

It took them another half-hour to get close to the dig site, eventually reaching a spot where the Mako wouldn't be able to fit between the rock walls.

"Looks like we're hoofing it the rest of the way," Shepard said, hopping out of the vehicle and unholstering her shotgun.

"More geth up ahead," Tali warned as they advanced.

"How many? I can't be sure my count is right, not if they're outfitting themselves with aluminum like the last ones were," Vin said with a frown.

"At least five, probably more."

Vin nodded. "Wrex, think you can draw their fire for a sec?"

He snorted. "Of course I can. Just be sure you can keep up," he said. The air around him blazed with biotic power, a blue nimbus surrounding him. Then, Wrex rocketed forward, air rushing in to fill the space where he'd been with a heavy thud.

"Ash, Tali, you go around to the left," Vin barked, tapping speed and sprinting around the boulder in the center of the path. A few of the metal lines sprouting from her chest moved, but Vin couldn't trust those. Some of them would be pointing to Wrex, instead of the geth. She'd just have to deal with the geth without steelpushing them.

Wrex was behind the rock, in the center of a knot of geth. He appeared to be holding his own, firing off short, precise bursts from his rifle as he pressed it against the geth's shields. A few of the machines turned at the sound of Shepard's footsteps and began firing, filling the air before her with a storm of metal. Vin tapped even more speed, drawing deeply from her steelmind. Around her, the world seemed to slow, the geth looking as though they were moving through tar. Vin rolled to the side, out of the line of fire, and drew her pistol. She had all the time in the world to take aim and put several rounds right through one geth trooper's flashlight eye.

It went down in ahead, limbs suddenly limp and useless. Vin allowed herself a brief, satisfied grin, and then turned to the second geth. It fell, just as swiftly as its partner had.

And then the world caught up to her, her Steelmind running dry.

 _Rusts!_ Vin thought, _I forgot to switch out for a fuller one!_

It was a rookie mistake, and it nearly got her killed, the loss of her speed distracting Shepard enough that she didn't see the geth charging at her. She only noticed it when it rammed into her like a speeding car.

Her barriers took most of the hit, but Vin was still thrown back, her back transforming into a sheet of agony as it slammed against the boulder. She fell to the ground, gasping in pain, and a shadow fell over her. Vin looked up.

And up.

 _Rusts_ , a part of her thought, _that thing's gotta be at least ten feet tall._ That horrible grinding sound came from the massive geth, deeper than the others, and it leaned down.

No way she'd be able to Push it away. The thing was way heavier than she was. Wincing, Vin raised her shotgun and fired, pulling the trigger until it overheated. The geth's barriers flashed, but they stayed up.

"Hey!" Ashley's voice rang out from behind the massive geth. With another burst of that electronic noise that passed for speech, it turned around, taking its eye off of Shepard for a second.

It shields exploded in a burst of electricity.

Williams took the opening she'd been given and stepped forward, assault rifle snarling as she fired round after round into the geth's chest.

Vin struggled to her feet and pulled out a grenade, slapping it onto the geth's back and rolling out of the way behind the boulder, her back screaming in protest.

The explosion echoed off the rocks. Shepard gave it a few seconds, then poked her head out from behind the boulder.

What was left of the geth destroyer lay on the ground in a heap. The grenade had completely separated its upper body from the lower, obliterating where the stomach would have been on a living creature. As Vin's back oh so helpfully reminded her of its state, Tali crept forward and crouched next to the geth, focused on the lines of code scrolling past on her Omnitool's screen. Vin left the Quarian to her work, letting out a groan as the medi-gel and the Goldmind in her armor began to work their magic. With a sigh, Shepard closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain, even as it lessened.

"You alright, commander?" Ashley asked after a few minutes. Vin nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be good to go in a minute. Nothing broken, just some bruising."

"Good," Ashley said, offering Shepard her hand. Vin took it, and the other woman helped pull her to her feet. The pain was already almost gone, so Vin stopped tapping the Goldmind. It was a pain in the ass to get your hands on a reasonably full one, and you never knew when you might need a bit of healing. Far cheaper to let the medi-gel do most of the work.

"Find anything, Tali?" Shepard asked, arching her back and popping her vertebrae.

"Maybe. I won't be able to tell for sure until I decrypt it, and I can't do that until we're back on the Normandy," the Quarian said.

"Alright. Wrex, you ready?"

"I've been ready. You're the one who doesn't regenerate fast like a sensible species," he said, without any real anger. "Let's find this Asari so we can get out of here.

* * *

Getting to Dr. T'Soni was going to be more difficult than they'd anticipated. As soon as the squad reached the entrance to the Prothean ruins, a geth dropship had flown by, dropping off a squad of geth and an armature.

"Tali, please tell me you can do something about the big one?" Vin said, leaning out from behind a storage crate and popping off a shot at one of the sniper geth.

"Get rid of the hoppers, and I should be able to bring its shields down."

Vin nodded. "You heard the lady! Take care of the jumpers, and then keep the rest from interrupting her!"

Wrex grunted in acknowledgement, and dashed out from behind another container, creating a field of shimmering sapphire light near one of the hoppers as it leapt from the wall.

The geth only skimmed the edge of the lift field, but that was enough to throw it off course. Vin capitalized on that moment of uncertainty before it landed and righted itself, and hit the geth with a Steelpush. That sent it back across the battlefield, its new trajectory ending at the pool of magma at the back of the area. It hit the molten stone and let out a brief burst of geth-speech in the seconds before the heat fried its speakers. Vin grinned savagely, and returned her focus to the battle.

Tali pointed her omnitool at the second leaping geth, taking its shields down in a burst of electricity, just as she had with the destroyer. The Quarian didn't waste time, plugging the vulnerable machine with a series of precise shots from her pistol. Next to her, Ashley swore as one of the white-armored geth created a hexagonal shield in front of itself, blocking her shots.

The second shock trooper had closed with Wrex, hitting the krogan with a blast of flame from its shotgun. Wrex snarled in discomfort, but what little of the flames had gotten past his barriers only seemed to annoy the Krogan. He growled and rushed forward, barreling into the geth and slamming it against a wall right next to Shepard.

Vin casually raised her shotgun to the side of its head, and blew it to smithereens.

Something detonated, the sound close enough that Vin spun around to look for the source. It turned out to be the smoking remains of one of the snipers, and Williams was already readying a second grenade.

She hadn't seen the armature charging its cannon.

"Williams! Down!" Vin yelled, using that tone of command she'd learned from so many drill sergeants over the years. Ashley dropped to the ground with less than a second to spare, the burst of plasma shooting over her head. "Tali, get rid of its shields!" Shepard barked, dropping a thin metal disc on the ground and pushing against it. The push couldn't move the disc, which meant she had to move instead, flying up onto a metal catwalk above the armature.

Tali worked fast, the geth platform's shields already overloading as Vin fired down at the geth, activating the Brassmind on the gun and letting it absorb the heat as she fired. The artificial Brassminds were horribly inefficient, but at least it was something. Back on the ground, Wrex and Ashley both did their part against the armature, Williams making an excellent throw and sticking it with a grenade, while Wrex surrounded it with a Warp field, the shifting biotic forces tearing it apart on a molecular level.

It took more than a minute of nonstop firing before the armature finally fell, white coolant fluid leaking from severed tubes and pooling around it.

Shepard leapt down from the catwalk, pushing against the geth to slow her fall. She landed on its neck, and gave it one last push, crushing its head against the ground. Just to be on the safe side.

"Two-hundred credits says there are more geth in there," Wrex said, nodding at the entrance to the ruins. Williams just snorted.

"I'm not an idiot, Krogan. I don't make sucker's bets."

Wrex just chuckled.

* * *

"Hello?" A voice echoed around the cavern, coming from somewhere below. "Is someone there? I am trapped, and I need help!"

"Think that's T'Soni?" Williams asked, stepping out of the broken elevator and carefully making her way along the mangled catwalk.

"It's the only thing that isn't a geth that we've heard so far. It'd _better_ be her," Wrex grumbled.

Vin hopped down to the next level of the catwalks, boots clanging against the metal.

"Hello?" The voice said again, this time from behind her. Shepard turned, noticing the shimmering barrier that filled the oval doorway in the smooth white wall. Beyond the barrier was an Asari, trapped in a floating sphere of biotic energy.

"Are you Liara T'Soni?" Vin asked.

"Yes. Are you real? Only, I've been trapped in here for several days, and I worry that I am becoming delirious."

"Yeah, we're real," Wrex said, tapping a finger against the barrier. It made a faint, gong-like sound.

"How can we get you out of there?"

"There is a control panel of some sort back there," T'Soni said, twitching her head at the large chamber on the other end of her prison. "But I don't know how you'll be able to get there with the barrier in place."

"We'll think of something," Vin reassured her, "just hang tight."

"I cannot exactly do anything else," the Asari pointed out, "but please be careful. I think there are still more geth, and there was a very large Krogan leading them."

"Thanks. We'll have you out of there soon," Vin said. T'Soni opened her mouth to say something, but her words were drowned out by the grinding sound of geth. Williams spun, rifle appearing in her hands so fast that Vin wondered if the other human was a Steelrunner as well.

Wrex thrust his fist forward with a roar. A line of biotic explosions raced along the ground, knocking one geth off its feet and sending another one flying into a rock with a metallic crunch.

Vin's stance was steady as she fired at the nearest geth. With each squeeze of the trigger, she Pushed on the round, giving the bullets extra speed and force. The geth's shields flashed with each hit, until the barriers fell and the shots started hitting the geth itself. It let out a screech and fired at her, its weapon spitting a barrage of plasma. She tapped her second Steelmind, dashing to the side and letting the geth's shots hit the cavern wall, leaving scorch marks on the stone. The geth kept firing, long past the point that a normal weapon would've overheated. Vin glared, pushing against the gun and throwing off its aim. The shots went wide, hitting the barrier protecting T'Soni, and the Asari let out a terrified yelp.

In the moments before the geth could correct its aim, Vin leapt into the air, pushing on the broken catwalk behind her. She soared over the geth and landed behind it. With another burst of steel-enhanced speed, Vin spun to face the back of the geth's head, pressing her shotgun to it. She pulled the trigger, reducing the geth's head to a mess of sparking wires. Vin stopped tapping her Steelmind, the world seeming to slow around her.

From farther back in the cavern, a geth let out a burst of electronic noise before falling silent, the sound cut off abruptly. Wrex stomped forward, tossing a geth's head to the side with a contemptuous snort.

"Think that's the last of them, commander," Tali said, checking her Omnitool.

"Don't suppose you could shut that barrier down?" Shepard asked the Quarian hopefully. Tali gave her a look that was clearly intended to be an 'are you serious' expression. Vin was actually impressed by how much the girl's body language could convey.

"We can't go through the barrier, so why not go under it?" Williams asked, pointing at a massive machine.

A mining laser, in fact.

"Williams, you're a genius," Vin said, "Tali, can you get that thing running?"

"Of course."

"T'Soni, just hang tight! We'll have you out of there in a few minutes!" Shepard shouted. If the Asari said anything in return, it was drowned out by the blast of noise and heat from the mining laser. It lanced out, boring through the rock like a bullet through flesh.

* * *

Liara fell to the ground with a grunt, the bubble of protective energy vanishing with a faint pop.

"Oh, by the Goddess," she said, rubbing her forehead. "Thank you, human. I'm not sure how long I was in there, but I fear I would not have lasted much longer."

"We still might not," Wrex said, as a tremor shook the cavern. "Mining laser must've messed with the volcano."

"Liara's skin grew several shades paler. "There's an elevator this way! Hurry!"

* * *

The mine's exit was blocked by a squad of geth and a heavily-armored Krogan.

"Surrender," the Krogan said, "or don't. That'd be more fun."

"We don't have time for this. Take them down!" Shepard barked.

* * *

Wrex surged forward, propelling himself toward the krogan with a biotic charge. He felt the energy building beneath his skin, urging him to act, to _fight_. Despite the situation, Wrex's breathing slipped into a different rhythm, one of questioning. Why now? What was he doing now that let it come back?

"Working for humans, old man? That's just pathetic," the other Krogan growled, slamming into Wrex and carrying him back into the wall. Wrex's answer came in the form of a Warp field, surrounding the Krogan in twisting, shifting azure light.

"Asari, lift him, now!" Wrex bellowed, backing away.

"What?" the girl asked, perplexedly.

"Just do it!"

The Asari gave him a wide-eyed look of panic, before she thrust her hands forward. A second field of blue light joined the first one. When the two biotic effects met, they split the air in a thunderous detonation. It knocked the other Krogan for a loop, making him stagger and fall to one knee. Wrex's shotgun roared, spitting a blast of flame at the dazed Krogan. The barriers hadn't yet reactivated after the biotic detonation, and the spray of burning metal chewed into his skin, filling the chamber with the stench of burning flesh.

The Krogan leapt to its feet, roaring in rage and pain. Wrex dodged the hasty charge, mildly impressed at the younger Krogan's endurance and pain tolerance. A carnage round to the face would put most Krogan out of the fight for a few minutes. It was almost a shame he'd have to die. But at the end of the day, he was on Saren's payroll.

"Stand still and fight with honor, Urdnot dog!" The Krogan snarled, his head twisting this way and that as he tried to find Wrex. The blindness from the blast wouldn't last long, Wrex knew. Eyes were always the quickest to regenerate. And, sure enough, he could already see the cloudy discoloration fading, revealing yellow eyes blazing with fury.

"Honor?" Wrex snorted, forming a pane of energy before him and deflecting the Krogan's shots. "If you knew the first thing about Honor, you wouldn't be working for Saren."

"Saren is going to save the Krogan! And anyone foolish enough to stand in his way will be crushed!" Crimson light danced along the Krogan's forearms as he flung them forward, and Wrex's vision went red.

* * *

Vin danced away from another destroyer, pushing off of part of the elevator's machinery and leaping over it. She was running dangerously low on stored speed, even the compounded steel she'd consumed earlier. She had several more metal minds back on the Normandy, bud those weren't going to do her much good right now. A quick look around the room showed her that the others were having troubles of their own. Williams and Tali were pinned down by the geth sniper, doing their best to keep any of the other ones from flanking her. Wrex had gone flying down a corridor, followed by Saren's Krogan, and T'Soni…

 _Ruin_ , where was T'Soni? It'd be a fine mess if she'd lost the person they'd come all this way to find in the first place.

Vin took a deep breath, and focused on the blue lines coming from the geth.

The lines split, one becoming many as she noted each separate piece of metal she could see on the geth. With a grunt, Vin Pushed on the lines leading to the destroyer's gun, ripping it out of the geth's hands and slamming it against the wall. The rifle flew apart on impact, and Vin switched to the lines pointing to the geth's shoulder joints and elbows, flinging its arms wide open.

A sphere of biotic energy flew past Vin with the sound of a windstorm. The destroyer and a couple of the shock troopers floated off the ground, caught by the pull of the singularity. They started to orbit it, circling the point of swirling darkness that was pulling them closer.

"I can't keep this up forever!" T'Soni shouted. Vin nodded, and fired, the wide spread of the shotgun's blast ripping into the geth. She fired again, and again, waiting until their eyes went out to stop. T'Soni let go of the singularity. Her eyes were wide with shock, the kind Vin had seen before on people who'd never been in combat before.

"Liara, I need you to keep it together, ok?" Vin said. "Now, let's get rid of that sniper. Can you lift it for me?"

The Asari nodded, a bit shakily, but when she thrust her hands forward the lift appeared exactly where Vin wanted it. Williams popped out from behind her cover, her rifle snarling as she filled the geth with steel.

But in taking out the sniper, Williams had taken her attention off of the rest of the geth, and the second destroyer took advantage of her distraction, slamming into her and carrying her forward. Her left leg hit the stone wall with an ugly crack, and she let out a grunt of pain. The geth leveled its gun at her, and Vin tapped every last bit of speed she had stored, sprinting across the chamber in an eyeblink.

The destroyer's shot hit her barriers like a punch from a Krogan, knocking Vin back. Vin grunted, but she managed to stay on her feet, putting herself between the still-dazed Williams and the massive geth. It let out an electronic snarl of what would have been frustration in a living creature, and rammed its fist forward. The punch was too slow to trigger her barriers, but that wouldn't be much comfort when it shattered her ribs and made a mess of her internal organs.

Something orange flashed to the side, and the geth ground to a halt, its eye going dark.

Tali stepped forward, a glowing object detaching from her omnitool.

"Are you alright?" The Quarian asked, rushing forward to check on Shepard and Williams.

"I'm fine," Vin said, "Williams is the one who got slammed into the wall."

"I'm fine, commander," Williams insisted, taking Tali's offered hand as she got to her feet. That assertion was somewhat undermined by Ashley's gasp of pain when she tried to put weight on her left leg.

"Don't try and play tough, soldier," Vin said, "here, put your arm around my shoulders."

Williams did so, taking the weight off of her injured leg with a small sigh of relief.

"Not that I'm ungrateful for you saving me," T'Soni began, "but shouldn't we—aaaah!" The Asari yelped, interrupted by the sudden rumble that shook the floor.

"Wrex?" Vin shouted, "Wrex, we gotta go!"

The Krogan stomped out of the hallway, his armor smoking slightly and marred by jagged electrical burns, shoving something into a pouch at his belt.

Another tremor shook the elevator, knocking chunks of stone loose from the ceiling.

"Run!" Vin yelled, triggering her armor's Pewtermind and throwing Ashley over her shoulder.

* * *

They burst out of the mine, the tremors having grown to a constant shaking that nearly knocked Tali off her feet.

"Joker, we need an evac now!" Vin shouted into her mic.

"Hold tight, commander," the pilot replied.

"If we die down here, I'll kill him," Wrex growled.

Seconds later, the Normandy screamed by overhead, turning on a dime and opening the cargo bay door right in front of them.

Vin flared her steel and pushed off from the ramp, leaping into the open cargo bay and landing in a heap, with Williams on top of her. A second later there was a massive thud of displaced air as Wrex, clutching Tali and Liara around their waists, landed in the cargo bay.

Vin met Ashley's eyes for a moment, and Vin's heart sped up in a way that had nothing to do with the fact they'd just escaped a volcanic eruption.

* * *

The squad filed into the briefing room about half an hour later, after Dr. Chakwas had given everyone a brief check-up. Williams had a cast over her lower leg, and was tapping health from one of Chakwas's goldminds to fix the fracture there.

"Thank you, Commander," T'Soni said, as she took a seat next to Tali. "I would rather not think about what those geth would have done to me if you hadn't come along."

"Worry more about what that krogan would've done to you," Wrex said. "Geth don't torture. But that one…I've seen his kind before. Krogan like that enjoy causing pain. And Saren…who knows what that bastard'll do."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," Alenko said.

"I ran into him once, and it's not like we actually spoke. But I got enough of a sense of him to know that Saren's a vicious son of a bitch."

"Wrex, I'll need to know more about this encounter of yours later," Vin said. "Dr. T'Soni, do you know why Saren might've wanted you?" The asari shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea. I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around the geth attacking a human colony!"

"Maybe you should take a look at the footage of what they did to the people on Elendel Prime," Ashley snapped, her eyes flashing. T'Soni held her hands up, palms out, and shook her head.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to suggest…Goddess, I'm so sorry!"

Williams opened her mouth to retort, but shut it again when Joker's voice came over the intercom.

"Commander, the Council's on the line. Want me to patch them through?"

"Might as well," Vin said, getting to her feet and standing at attention before the holo-projectors. After a moment, the images of all three Councilors appeared.

"Ah, Commander," Tevos said, "I trust your mission on Therum was a success?"

"We were able to retrieve Dr. T'Soni, who was under attack by Saren's geth and a krogan mercenary. I'd call that conclusive evidence that, whatever Benezia's involvement with Saren, her daughter isn't part of it."

"Excuse me, what was that about my mother?" Liara asked, but the only answer she got was a 'shhhh!' from Vakarian.

"Unfortunately, during the fighting, the Prothean site was destroyed by volcanic activity," Vin continued. Valern's eyes went wide, and he leaned forward over his podium, hands clenching the sides of it.

"What? But that site—"

"It was either preserve the site and let…let everyone on my team die, or get out of there with Dr. T'Soni!" Shepard said, hands balled into fists at her sides.

"But think of what we could've learned from that site!" Valern said.

"Knowledge that would do us no good if Saren succeeds in whatever he's planning, Valern," Sparatus said. "It may not be the ideal outcome, but she _did_ complete the mission."

"Yes, I suppose so," the salarian said with a sigh, standing up straight and adjusting his cuffs. "Do you have anything else to report?"

"No, your honors," Vin said.

"Very well. Good hunting, Spectre Shepard," Sparatus said, giving her a curt nod. With that, the holograms winked out, allowing her to relax.

"Well, that could've gone worse," Garrus remarked. "Thank the spirits that they didn't let Valern build up a head of steam about the ruins."

T'Soni nodded. "Yes, I've heard from some of my professors that he can be rather…passionate about the subject."

Ashley's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? He was an archaeologist? How'd he go from that to being a politician?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea," Liara said with a shrug. "Commander, you mentioned my mother earlier in connection with Saren?"

"When was the last time you spoke with your mother?"

"A year and a half ago. Why, what's going on?"

Vin blinked, surprised. "That long? Are you not close to her?"

This time it was Liara's turn to be confused.

"Of course we're close! Why would you think other—oh!" Liara lightly slapped her forehead. "Of course. A year or two is not a particularly long time to Asari, with how long-lived we are."

"Oh," Shepard said, slightly embarrassed at having to be told something that seemed so obvious in retrospect. "Well, this might be a bit much to take in…"

* * *

"This makes no sense!" Liara exclaimed once Shepard and finished her explanation. "My mother would never be involved with something so…so monstrous!"

"Well, it certainly looks like she is. Maybe Saren's blackmailing her into cooperating by threatening you? I mean, why else would the geth have been on Therum?" Shepard asked.

"Perhaps because of the Conduit?"

"Wait, you know what it is?"

"No, not at all! But I'm sure I've seen the term mentioned in some of my research!" Liara said, her eyes lighting up.

"And what exactly _is_ your area of study?" Alenko asked.

"The Protheans. Specifically, their extinction. I've spent the last fifty years trying to discover what happened to them. And I'm sure I've found mentions of the Conduit in some Prothean writings somewhere."

"Alright, that's a start," Vin said. "Do you have any of your notes accessible?"

"Yes, I could get them if I were on the Citadel," T'Soni said. Then, her eyes widened as a realization hit her. "I…I probably need to go there anyway, to purchase new clothes. All of mine would have been consumed by the magma."

Vin nodded, getting to her feet. "Citadel it is. I'll go tell Joker. You should have something to eat. I don't know how Asari metabolisms work, but being stuck in that force field for however long you were there probably wasn't good for you.

"Yes, of course. Thank you again, Commander," T'Soni said, heading for the door.

* * *

Vin eventually tracked Wrex down in the cargo hold. The krogan had commandeered the weapons bench from Williams, who was looking on with a bemused expression as Wrex examined some sort of crystal with a set of magnifying lenses.

"So, when were you planning on mentioning that you knew Saren?" Vin asked him, folding her arms across her chest. Wrex snorted, looking up from his work.

"I don't know him. Like I said, it was a brief encounter. We never even talked."

"Well, I need to know what happened. Anything that gives me some insight into him."

"Alright. It was about, oh, ten years ago, when I was working as a pirate. The job was simple; hijack a freighter and take everything we could. I'd had a bad feeling about the job from the start, but once I saw Saren, I knew there was something else going on."

"What was he doing?" Ashley asked. Wrex shrugged.

"He was looking for something, but I couldn't tell you what. It wasn't my business. But my instincts were screaming at me to run. And I've learned to listen to my instincts, so I lit out of there like a Highstorm was on my ass. Didn't even wait to get paid. I laid low for about a year after that, just in case."

"And I thought old Turians could be paranoid," Garrus said. Wrex shook his head.

"I'm the only person who worked that job who's still alive. Everyone else, the ones who waited to get paid? Dead by the end of the week. Saren was trouble then, and he's only gotten worse in the years since."

"Rust and Ruin," Vin breathed. "And you still don't know what he was after?"

"No. After finding out that I was the only one from the job left, I decided against poking into it. Besides, I had other things on my mind."

"Alright. If you remember anything else, let me know right away," Shepard said. Wrex gave a grunt, already engrossed in examining the crystal again.

* * *

Saren donned his new armor, being careful not to let it brush against his new spike too much.

That was the major issue with the art that he had been taught. With each new spike, his armor had to be altered, adding room for them, or even incorporating them into his armor entirely. If he gained too many more, he wouldn't be able to take it off at all.

A small price to pay, to save everything he had ever known.

A shudder ran through the ship, and Saren felt Sovereign's touch upon his mind.

 _THE KROGAN ON THERUM HAS FAILED. THAT WHICH HE BORE WAS TAKEN._

If turians could go pale, he would have. As it was, his mandibles simply twitched. "It will be dealt with."

 _THE HUMAN CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO STAND AGAINST US. NONE MAY BE ALLOWED._

"Of course, Nazara."


	4. Chapter 4: Breadcrumbs

Vin had barely stepped off the elevator from the Alliance docks when a woman intercepted her, a camera drone hovering over one shoulder.

"Excuse me, Commander Shepard? Khalisa al-Jilani, Westerlund News. Would you mind answering a few questions for our viewers?"

"I suppose not," Vin said, "What do you want to know?" The drone floated forward, the lights around its lens striking her face.

"You've been given an unprecedented opportunity to represent our race. People want to know just how you'll do that," al-Jilani asked. "Humans have been trying to gain the galactic community's respect for nearly thirty years now. How do you feel about being the first human Spectre?"

"Spectres are the absolute best of what each species has to offer. Being asked to join is an incredible honor," Vin said.

"I see. Some have said that your appointment was merely the Citadel throwing humans a bone. Have you encountered any situations where the Council asked you to place its needs before those of Scadrial?"

Vin kept herself from frowning. It figured that the first interview she gave would be with someone who seemed to want to paint her as a traitor to humanity or something.

"The Council deals with the needs of the whole galactic community. Our needs are part of that now, even though we're one of many." al-Jilani raised her eyebrows.

"You really believe that, don't you?" she said softly. She continued in a louder voice. "You've been given command of a cutting-edge human warship for your mission. Is there anything you can tell us about it?"

"The Normandy is actually a joint venture between human and turian engineers. However, I'm afraid that all the innovations in its design are classified. I'm sure you understand."

The reporter gave her a smile, one that said that Vin had just given her an opening.

"So the turians have knowledge of the Normandy that's being kept secret from the Alliance public? Was it _really_ appropriate to hand our most advanced warship over to the Citadel?"

"If the Normandy's been handed over to anyone, that's news to me," Vin said sharply. "I and my crew are still human, and we're still part of the Alliance."

"Yes, but you _do_ work for the Council. Tell me, Commander, did they order you to sabotage human interests on Therum?"

Vin swore mentally, but kept her expression calm. "I'm afraid that I can't comment on anything regarding my mission. Spectre activities are classified, Miss al-Jilani. That includes where I may or may not have been."

"How interesting," al-Jilani said, eyebrows raised. "Given your recent experiences, do you think humanity will ever gain the respect of the galactic community?"

"We'll get their respect if we earn it. That's the only way you _can_ get respect. It's earned, not deserved. And yes, I firmly believe that we will earn their respect, sooner rather than later."

"You're a real idealist, Commander. I hope you're right. One last question. Rumor has it that you're tracking a rogue Spectre named Saren Arterius. Would you care to comment on that?" Vin shook her head.

"As I said, I can't confirm or deny anything about my current assignment," she said. Al-Jilani smiled.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll find out. The eyes of our world are on you, Commander. I hope you don't let us down," al-Jilani said, switching off the camera drone. "Thank you for your time, Commander Shepard."

The reporter walked away, seemingly a little disappointed. She'd probably wanted to get more out of Shepard, or had wanted Vin to say something that she could spin a certain way.

Vin's omnitool beeped, and she pulled up a new message.

 _Spectre Shepard._

 _Come to the Spectre outpost in the embassy building._

 _Lonar Maerun._

Vin stared at the message for a moment. The message had apparently been sent from inside the Spectre outpost, and it was supposed to be incredibly secure. So the message was unlikely to be a trap. And, well, it wasn't like she had anything else to do at the moment.

* * *

The outpost was accessed through a back corridor in the embassy building. Just to get in, Vin had to go through a scanner that confirmed her identity based on her height, eyes, blood, and probably like twenty other categories she wasn't aware of. Inside, there were several information terminals, a couple of rooms with simple barrack beds, a shooting range, and a common area with a kitchen and tables.

"So, you're Shepard," a deep voice said from behind her. Vin turned, and came face to face with a batarian. Her heart started racing, and she had her pistol halfway out of its holster before her brain caught up.

"Lonar Maerun?" she asked warily. The batarian nodded.

"Good reflexes," he said, nodding at her pistol. Vin flushed, and holstered it.

"I'm sorry," she said, but Maerun shook his head.

"No harm done. And I can hardly blame you, given your previous experiences with my kind. Come, sit," he said, gesturing towards one of the tables. Vin did so, watching as the batarian picked up a mug of tea from next to the stove. He sat down opposite her, meeting her eyes with the lower pair of his. "Now, tell me what I can do to help you deal with my old student."

"Saren? You trained him?" Vin asked. Maerun nodded.

"Chose him, molded him, trained him, helped shape him into what he is today. If I'd been here when you got the assignment, I'd have volunteered to go with you." Vin snorted

"People are already thinking I'm a traitor to my species for having a few aliens onboard. I don't wanna imagine how the media would react if I brought along a batarian."

Maerun gave a short, bitter laugh. "Traitor to your species. Yes, I know what it's like to be called that."

"I didn't want to ask, but, well, if you're bringing it up…?" Vin said, leaving the question unsaid.

"How did a Batarian become a Spectre, and how am I still one?" Vin nodded. "The same way as anyone else. Being an outstanding example of my kind. There used to be quite a few of us among the Spectres. But when my people severed all ties with the Citadel, most resigned. Only three of us left, now."

"Huh," Vin said, not sure how else to respond. "So, what can you tell me about Saren?"

"Ruthless, cunning, and willing to do anything to achieve his goals. But I suspect you already knew that. You want to know his skills, his abilities."

"Yeah."

"The main one you should know is that he's a practitioner of what the Turians call the Secta Ossis, the Way of Bone. Those who follow it can give themselves certain abilities by sacrificing others. They use their magic, fueled by the sacrifice, to reshape their bones and carapace into the symbols of their art. The reshaped carapace is nearly indestructible. Saren has given himself increased strength, speed, senses, and reflexes, and that's only the ones I know of."

Vin sucked in a breath through her teeth. "That's monstrous. How can the Hierarchy allow people to use something like that?"

"It's rarely practiced, from what I understand. And they have very strict rules about it. They're only allowed to sacrifice people who agreed to become a sacrifice while of sound mind. I'm told some turians see it as an honor, and will agree to it if they're already dying."

"That doesn't make it _right_ ," Vin said. Maerun surprised her by nodding in agreement. Vin felt a burst of shame at her surprise. The man had done nothing to make her think he'd agree with the practice.

"No, it doesn't."

Vin sighed. "Alright, what about other batarians working with Saren?"

"Yes, I read your report. You're sure that they had devices for turning people into Lifeless?"

"I saw those things on Mindoir. I know what they look like," Vin said harshly. Maerun frowned.

"I've not heard anything of devices like what you described, but I do have a few contacts left within the Hegemony. I'll see what I can turn up."

"Thank you, Spectre Maerun. I'll take all the help I can get," Vin said as she got up from the table. She was halfway to the door when she turned back to him. "Oh, wait, one last thing. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that ship of Saren's, would you?"

Maerun shook his head. "Afraid I'm just as much in the dark as everyone else about that thing. All I can tell you is that wherever it came from, Saren didn't design it."

"You seem awfully sure of that."

"It's not his style. Saren had his own ship personally made once, years ago. He prefers things small and fast, and has a completely different design sense and aesthetic."

"Well, I'll take your word for it. Design and aesthetics aren't exactly my area of expertise. Kinda surprised they're yours, honestly."

"Didn't think batarians had much of an eye for art?" Shepard blushed, ashamed of her biases showing so clearly. But Maerun shook his head. "Most don't. Certainly not the lower castes. Art is only for the upper castes to appreciate. But I've had about a century to pick things up here and there."

Vin's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding. You don't look that old…not that I know what old age looks like in a batarian," she remarked, more to herself than to Maerun.

"The signs aren't as noticeable in us. And I suspect you don't know anything about Awakeners or Biochromatic Breath, either?"

"That's the kind of magic you use, isn't it? I didn't think anyone outside of the Hegemony knew much about it. And batarian soldiers aren't exactly the talkative type."

"True enough. Here, this should help," he said, tapping a few keys on his omnitool. Her own omni beeped, she accepted the file transfer, and opened the document.

"An in-depth guide to BioChromatic Breath and its uses," Vin read aloud.

"It's a common text among those in the Hegemony. Many uses of Breath aren't all that practical these days, what with body armor and guns," Maerun said.

"This…Awakening doesn't work on them?"

"No. Doesn't work on any non-organic material. Awakening, to vastly simplify things, allows one to animate inanimate objects, but only if they were once part of something alive."

Vin chuckled. "Yeah, can't imagine that's very useful anymore."

"Which is why most just stockpile Breath. Get enough of it, and you essentially stop aging, in addition to gaining immunity to most toxins and diseases."

"Now that's a lot more useful," Vin remarked.

"Indeed. It's also why our damned government has stagnated so much. Politicians who don't age, who don't retire, and who don't change their views," he growled. "But you're not here to listen to an old man's woes."

"Maybe not, but it's interesting all the same," Vin said. "But I probably ought to get going."

"One last question, if I may," Maerun said. "You accepted me quite quickly. Given your past, I expected more hostility." Vin shook her head.

"If you'd met me right after Mindoir, I probably would've tried to murder you," she admitted. "I held onto that hate for a while. But when I joined the military, I saw other soldiers who let their hate define them. I'd rather not be like one of them."

"Not easy, constantly carrying around that kind of hate and not giving in to it."

"No," Vin said. Maerun nodded, apparently satisfied.

"I've taken enough of your time, Commander. Good luck on your hunt."

"Thank you, Spectre Maerun. And good luck with…whatever your next mission is," Vin said as she left.

On the way out, she remembered something. Garrus had mentioned that Spectres had access to better weapons and armor, and given what Saren had access to, turning down an advantage would be a stupid idea. Vin took a look at the requisitions console.

"Fuck me," she swore when she saw the prices. Vin was hardly broke, but some of the equipment there would take a serious chunk out of her bank account.

On the other hand, good armor was a pretty sound investment. Vin pondered the choices for a moment. Then, she shrugged, and bought a new set of armor and weapons.

"Not like I do much with my money, anyway," she said to herself, telling the requisitions office to deliver her purchases to the Normandy.

* * *

On the way out of the embassy building, Vin stopped by Udina's office, intending to check in with him. But when she stepped through the door, there was already someone there, a weathered looking man in an Admiral's uniform.

"Ah, Shepard," Udina said.

"Sorry for interrupting, I can wait outside, sirs," she said. But the Admiral shook his head.

"It's alright, Commander Shepard." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually, perhaps you can help me."

"With what, Admiral…?" Vin asked.

"Kahoku. Admiral Kahoku. I've been trying to get someone to look into one of my teams that's gone dark, but everyone I talk to is giving me the runaround. But you're a Spectre. You could look into it and find out what's going on!" he said, pounding his palm with his fist.

"Of course, sir. Where was their last known location?"

Kahoku told her, and Vin took a moment to check the coordinates.

"Hm. It's close enough to the Traverse that it shouldn't be too out of the way. I'll get there as soon as I can, Admiral," Vin said, saluting.

"Thank you, Commander," Kahoku, said, returning the salute before departing. Once the door had shut behind him, Vin turned back to Udina.

"You set that up." It wasn't a question.

"Kahoku's concerns are legitimate, and my hands were tied. Besides, can you honestly say that you wouldn't have agreed to help him if you'd met on your own?" Udina asked with a small smile.

Vin shook her head.

"There you are, then," Udina said, leaning back in his chair.

"Sorry if I made any trouble for you with what happened on Therum," Vin said as she pulled up a chair, but Udina waved a hand dismissively.

"I read your report, Vin. I don't see what else you could've done. And I agree with your assessment of Dr. T'Soni."

"Good. Got any more leads for me?"

"Scattered reports of geth activity. I forwarded all of them to the Normandy. Besides that, nothing. You're free to look into Kahoku's missing marines at your leisure."

"Leisure isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe my life right now," Vin said, and they shared a small chuckle.

* * *

Wrex sat down across from the old krogan, and placed the gemstone on the table between them. Neither spoke for several minutes, the elder simply sipping at his drink while Wrex waited. Only when he'd emptied the mug did the elder speak.

"It has been a long time, young Urdnot," he said in a rumbling voice. "When last we spoke, you swore you were done with the Orders, with our people and with Tuchanka. What has changed?"

Wrex nodded at the crystal, and the thing within it. "I fought a younger krogan, one in service to Saren. He had a strange Form, and when I slew him I captured that."

The elder picked up the gem, examining it closely, rotating it so that different facets caught the light. He kept staring at the dark shape within the gem for several minutes, and when he put it down, the elder's face was troubled.

"That is no Voidspren. Or if it is, it's not one any Elsecaller has seen or heard of. Describe this new Form to me."

"Not much outward change I could see, but I didn't have time to strip his armor for a thorough examination. The edges of his brow plates were sharper, more jagged, and there were black veins in his eyes. He could call lightning, like the legends of Stormform, but seemed to be able to direct it more accurately," Wrex said. The Elsecaller's frown deepened.

"Worrying. Very worrying," he said when Wrex had finished. "If this Saren has found something like the Listener Gods, he's a danger to every Krogan. And still you refuse your role!" he exclaimed, pounding the table with both fists.

"I'm just a mercenary, Arek," Wrex snapped. "I tried to be something more, and you know how that turned out!"

"One failure and you give up? Bah! You should know better than that! Journey before Destination, you fool!"

Wrex sighed. "I'm not the right Krogan for the job. Even the Rider can make mistakes. Find someone else to be your storming unifier!" he snarled, chair scraping against the floor as he stood up and stomped away from the table.

"This isn't over!" Arek called after him.

* * *

It wasn't long before a call from Garrus interrupted her conversation with Udina.

"Vakarian? Something up?" she asked, answering the call.

"Might be," he said. "I stopped to say hi to Doctor Michel, and someone was blackmailing her for medical supplies. I managed to get a name from a krogan who was working as a middleman. Someone called Armistan Banes. Michel said she worked with him once, and that last she heard, he was doing some work for the Alliance. I thought maybe you might've heard the name somewhere?"

"Can't say that I have," Vin replied. When she looked back to Udina, he was already frowning.

"I have. He was involved with some sort of black ops work. Anderson would know more. But I don't see how he could be blackmailing anyone, seeing as he's dead."

"You sure he's dead? Could he have faked it?" Vakarian asked over the phone.

"It's possible, I suppose. That team of Admiral Kahoku's that disappeared, the one you said you'd investigate? They're the ones who found Banes's body."

Vin sucked in a breath through her teeth. "That's one hell of a coincidence," she said.

"My thoughts exactly," Udina replied, typing out a pair of messages and sending them off. "Vakarian, bring the doctor here, please. I think we're going to need to talk to Kahoku and Anderson about this."

* * *

It took about thirty minutes for Anderson, Kahoku, Garrus, and Dr. Michel to get to Udina's office. Once they were all there, Garrus explained how he'd gotten Banes's name in the first place, and Dr. Michel told them how she'd met Banes. When they were done, everyone in the room was frowning.

"Kahoku, how sure are you that the body your men found was Banes?" Udina asked.

"Less sure than I was when they first reported it," he said. "The body was badly damaged. We had to run DNA and dental to make a positive identification, and that was when all the red flags came up in the system."

"Given the kind of work Banes was involved in, he could have falsified his records in the system so that they matched whatever body he used to fake his death," Anderson said. "I've seen some of the files on what we had him doing. It was dirty stuff. Shepard, I'll get you whatever intel I can on Banes and what he was involved in, if you're still planning on finding Kahoku's team."

Vin raised an eyebrow. "If? Sir, I remember another team of marines that went out of contact like this. I'm not letting that happen to anyone else, not if I can help it," Vin said, her eyes blazing fiercely. A grimace flickered across Udina's face at Vin's words, but Anderson simply nodded.

"Good luck, soldier. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

* * *

Unfortunately, they couldn't just take off right away, even with the urgency of their mission. It took almost a day for the Alliance to deliver a new Mako to the Normandy, and another couple hours past that for Dr. T'Soni to finally return to the ship, laden down with OSDs and even a few paper notebooks. All in all, the Normandy spent almost a day and a half on the Citadel. By the time they finally cast off, Vin had gotten so tired of waiting that she'd told Pressley to handle things, and went to go take a nap and store some wakefulness. In truth, she didn't really need to store any more of that particular attribute, but it _had_ been a while since she'd gotten any actual sleep. Being unconscious for most of the trip from Elendel Prime to the Citadel didn't count, after all.

Vin finally woke up around the middle of the night.

She found Wrex and Tali in the mess hall, in the middle of a conversation.

"—you've never been there?" Tali was asking, her voice full of disappointment.

"You're asking the wrong Krogan. If my grandfather was still alive, he might have been able to tell you a story or two. I remember him mentioning that he'd been to Rannoch once or twice, but he never talked about it in detail," Wrex said.

"And you didn't ask?" Tali said, sounding faintly indignant. Wrex snorted.

"I had other things on my mind at the time. Quarian history didn't really hold my interest," he replied, nodding at Shepard as she stepped out of the doorway and pulled up a chair.

"Hello Commander," Tali said, taking a sip through the straw that went from her cup into her helmet. Vin raised an eyebrow at that.

"Iced coffee," Tali explained, "or the dextro equivalent, anyway." Vin made a face.

"Iced?"

"Have you ever tried drinking something hot through a straw?" Tali asked. Vin shook her head. "I tried once, and had a burn on my tongue for a week." She turned back to Wrex. "What was your grandfather like?"

Wrex chuckled. "Tough, mean son of a bitch. He was near two-thousand when he died, as far as I know."

Shepard whistled, impressed. "I thought that if a Krogan got that old, they were pretty much unkillable. How'd he die?"

"We're tough, but hardly unkillable, Shepard," Wrex said, "We can die same as anyone else. It just takes a bit more work. Grandfather…he died because he _chose_ to. Said it was his time, and walked out into the heart of a Highstorm."

"What's a Highstorm?" Tali asked.

"Tuchanka has massive storms that blow across the world from east to west. Everything on Tuchanka's been shaped by them, life adapting to survive the storms. Plants lay down or retreat into burrows during them. Krogan and other animals evolved our shells, our armor, so that we could weather the storms."

"Just rain? That doesn't sound so bad," Tali said, and Wrex let out a harsh laugh.

"Rain, lightning, and winds that can pick up boulders the size of the Mako and toss them around like a child's ball. Even Krogan don't go out in a Highstorm without a reason."

"Like dying," Vin said.

"Like becoming one with it," Wrex replied. "The storms are Invested. Some Krogan believe that the Storms come from the Origin, the source of all power on Tuchanka, and return there when they've passed around the world. They believe that those who die in a Highstorm will have their souls carried back, that they'll rejoin the Origin to be reborn."

"And how's that belief square with the whole Genophage business?" Garrus asked, taking a seat next to Tali. Wrex's eyes narrowed, and he gave Garrus a sneer.

"Beliefs on that differ," he replied, "but the most popular is that the Genophage created a dam, one that prevents rebirth. They believe that if enough Krogan return to the Storms, we will break down the dam and surge forth through the galaxy like a great flood."

"And you?" Vin asked, "what do you believe?"

"That Krogan need to stop think about how they should die, and focus on life. It's not right, this twisted mix of Honor and Hate that most Krogan are content to submerge themselves in. "

With that, Wrex stood up from the table and stomped toward the elevator, muttering under his breath in an odd, rhythmic way. Vin turned to Garrus, glaring at him.

"Real tactful, Vakarian. Remind him of how your people have practically committed genocide," Vin snapped. Garrus at least had the decency to look a little sheepish, but Vin had a feeling she'd need to have a talk with him later. She headed off after Wrex, taking the ladder between decks rather than waiting for the lift to return.

Wrex had settled into his usual spot, leaning against the wall in a corner of the cargo bay as he read through something on his Omnitool.

"Wrex, I—," Vin started to say, but he waved a hand.

"Save it. You're not the one that needs to apologize. And you don't need to tiptoe around the subject. The Salarians made the genophage, the Turians deployed it, and now my people are dying out. Everyone knows it," Wrex said.

"He still should've had more tact than that," Vin replied. "I'll talk to him about it later." She turned to leave, but Wrex held up a hand.

"Hang on a sec, Shepard. You asking about my Grandfather got me thinking."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Back when the turians put down the Krogan Rebellions, they took a lot of stuff from us, as part of the disarmament. Some of it got destroyed, some ended up in museums, or in private collections."

"And there's something that used to belong to your Grandfather out there?" Vin asked. Wrex nodded, turning his Omni to show her an image of a set of Krogan armor. There was something different about it, but the image wasn't large enough for her to figure out what.

"This armor was passed down through Clan Urdnot for generations. And I've finally managed to track it down," he said. "A turian named Tonn Actus has it. The bastard's got his own collection of artifacts from all over the galaxy, especially Krogan relics. That bigoted cremling thinks we're little more than animals."

"Well, if we go charging in after him, that's not going to do anything to change his mind," Vin said. Wrex growled, deep in his throat, the strange humming he'd been doing changing its tone.

"I don't give a damn what he thinks, Shepard. He's a pirate and a thief. I'll send you the coordinates for his base, as long as you promise me that you'll leave him for me to deal with personally.

"Pirate?" Vin asked. Wrex chuckled.

"Yeah, He's got a lot of men working for him, and he has some sort of partnership going with some Batarian slavers."

"You really could've led with that, you know," Vin said, clenching her fists. "After we've dealt with this thing for Admiral Kahoku, I'll take a look at whatever info you've got on Actus."

Wrex gave her a nod. "Thanks Shepard. I appreciate it." Vin returned the nod as she walked away, wandering over to the weapons bench and Ashley. Absentmindedly, Shepard reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face. Williams turned at the sound of her footsteps.

"Oh, Commander. There was something I've been meaning to talk to you about," she said.

"What's up, Williams?"

"It's just, well…do you really think it's a good idea to be allowing all these aliens unrestricted access to the Normandy?" She asked, lowering her voice. "I mean, krogan and _turians_?"

Vin pressed her lips together, her mouth forming a thin line. "Williams, have you ever interacted with aliens before you joined the Normandy's crew? Like, had a conversation with one?" Vin asked. Ashley looked away, and Vin sighed. "I kinda figured that. Look, they may not be Alliance, but they're still our allies. At least when it comes to Saren."

Williams shook her head. "I'm not saying they aren't. I just don't think we should give them free reign to poke around everything. The Normandy's the most advanced ship we've got."

"A ship that was developed by working with turians," Vin reminded her. "And we need to learn to work together with other species, if we want to stand on the galactic stage."

"I'm not saying we should turn down allies, Commander," Williams said, "I just don't think we should count on them _staying_ allies. The Council members seem noble, sure, but if their backs are to the wall then they'll favor their own people over us. That's just the way it is."

Vin kept her expression carefully neutral. "You feel pretty strongly about this, chief."

"My family's served in the Alliance since it was founded. I guess we just tend to think of Scadrial's interests as our own. My father, grandfather, and great-grandmother all picked up a rifle and swore the oath of service."

"I can understand that. But I'm surprised you haven't had any interaction with aliens before now. I took a look at your history; your record's spotless, and your technical scores are some of the best I've seen. You really should have been serving with the fleet."

"Yeah, well, things just haven't worked out that way, I guess," Williams replied, looking away again. "What about you? I'm…I'm honestly surprised you're so trusting, after what happened on Mindoir."

Vin frowned at the change of subject. Ashley didn't want to talk about her military history, which meant that there was almost certainly something there. But there'd be other opportunities to dig deeper.

"Surprised I'm not a xenophobe, you mean?"

"No! I just meant that, well, you seem awfully willing to give aliens the benefit of the doubt. I've met others who survived attacks by batarian slavers, and they had a _ton_ of baggage."

"Believe me, chief, I've got my share of baggage from my past. But my parents always taught me to be accepting, and to give people a chance. For a while, I wanted to go into the diplomatic corps. Even though I ended up in the military, I still want to understand people," Vin sighed. "Look, I can understand where your concerns are coming from, Ashley, but this is a multilateral mission. Like it or not, you're gonna have to work with aliens."

"Won't be a problem, Commander. You tell me to jump, I'll ask how high? You tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek."

Vin raised an eyebrow, and resolutely ignored the part of her that wanted to ask who _else_ Williams would be willing to kiss. "I don't think that'll be necessary."

"You never know, Commander," Ashley said with a small smile.

"Dismissed, chief."

Shepard was halfway to the lift when Joker's voice came over the intercom. "Hey, commander, we're about twenty minutes out from our destination."

"Understood," she said, tapping into the comm system herself. "Vakarian, Alenko, get down to the shuttle bay and get kitted out. We've got some marines to find." Vin switched off the intercom, and turned towards Wrex. "You too, Wrex!"

* * *

When the Mako reached the top of the hill, Vin could finally see where Kahoku's marines last communication had come from.

It wasn't pretty.

Unease growing in the pit of her stomach, she drove the Mako down and parked it next to the wreckage of the Alliance vehicles.

"Stay alert," she instructed as she climbed out, "something's not right here."

"Roger that, Commander," Alenko replied, already scanning everything with his omni. Vin looked over the scene, trying to piece together what could've happened damage the sturdy vehicles.

"These transports were torn open," Wrex said. "Not many things out there powerful enough to do that."

"Anyone see any bodies?" Vin asked, checking the metal lines around her for movement. Apart from the ones pointing to Wrex, Alenko, and Vakarian, there was nothing.

"Nothing yet," Garrus replied. "Lots of burns, though."

"Burns?" Vin asked, the hairs of the back of her neck standing up.

"Yeah, looks like some kind of acid," Alenko said.

"RUN!" Vin shouted, "Back to the Mako, now!" But even as the words left her mouth, she realized it was too late. The ground between them and the Mako churned.

The Thresher Maw burst into the open air, and its screech sent Vin crashing back.

Back into her memories.

Back to Akuze.

* * *

"Normandy, we need evac!" Kaidan shouted into his radio. "Joker, do you read?"

There was no response.

"Joker? Anyone?"

"No use," Garrus said. "There's something interfering with our communications."

"Shepard? Commander, are you alright?" Alenko asked, waving his hand in front of her helmet's visor. She'd crouched down behind one of the pieces of the vehicles that had been here, but now she didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings. Behind the visor, Vin Shepard's eyes were wide and unfocused. With a sinking feeling, Kaidan checked her vitals. The readout confirmed his fear.

Shepard's heart rate and breathing were both spiking, and despite the way her eyes were flicking this way and that, she didn't seem to be noticing anything around her.

"Shit," Kaidan breathed, "I think she's having a panic attack.

The maw roared again, twisting this way and that as though searching for something.

"Garrus, you said something was blocking our communications?" Kaidan asked, an idea forming in his mind.

"Yeah. Our helmet radios should be fine, but we can't contact the Normandy."

"Could it be something to draw the Thresher Maw here? Some sort of beacon?" Garrus nodded.

"I'll see if I can find it and shut it down…Wrex, where are you going?" Vakarian asked as the krogan strode out from behind cover, heading for the thresher maw.

"I'll deal with the maw. You find the blocker!" he shouted, biotics flickering to life around him.

* * *

Wrex attuned the Rhythm of Resolve as he walked, his biotics flickering and pulsing in time with it. He breathed deep, inhaling the aroma of the battlefield. Acid, burning metal, and the thresher maw's reek.

With a thrust of his hand, Wrex flung a Warp at the thresher, the shifting biotic energies ripping at its thick flesh. It screeched, vomiting another glob of acid at him. Another bit of mental effort, and a barrier manifested before him, the acid splashing against it with a hiss. Wrex dodged to the side and let the barrier drop, taking cover behind the remnants of a marine shuttle.

"Vakarian, any luck? This thing's _definitely_ not acting normal." Wrex asked.

"Maybe. I need more time to narrow it down though."

"Damnation. This thing's going into a frenzy. We don't have that kind of time. We'll have to take it out ourselves," Wrex said. Garrus stared at him, mandibles flaring.

"Are you insane? The Mako's too damaged for us to use its weapons. You seriously think you can bring down a thresher maw on foot?"

Wrex swore under his breath. "Not my first choice, but we don't have a lot of options, do we?" he said, poking his head out from behind the ruined vehicle to see where the creature had gone. It was nowhere to be found. Wrex swore again. Thresher maws were nearly impossible to detect when they were underground. It could be right under him, for all he knew.

"How many grenades do you have, Vakarian?" Wrex asked. Garrus chuckled.

"Three. Alenko has two, and so does Shepard." Wrex shook his head.

"Won't be enough, not unless we can get them to all go off at the exact same spot."

"You sure?" Alenko asked, speaking for the first time since he'd started attending to Shepard.

"Of course I'm sure! This isn't the first thresher maw I've fought on foot."

"Then how'd you kill that one?" Garrus asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Bigger guns," Wrex said. His eyes went wide as he felt the ground begin to rumble. "Storms! Vakarian, do something about the jammer and do it fast, that's an order!" He shouted, bursting into motion with a Charge that hurled him away moments before the maw surfaced.

* * *

Garrus's fingers flew across his omnitool, trying yet another scan. He'd already tried to find the jammer almost every way he knew how.

 _If this one doesn't work_ , he thought, _I'll have to go over every inch of this place with a damn crystal radio, checking for interference._

The omni beeped, and a signal appeared on the screen. On the other side of the ruined Mako, Garrus could hear gunfire and screeching as Wrex did his best to damage the beast. But it wasn't enough.

"Wrex, I found the signal! I'm about to shut it down!" Garrus said.

"Wait!" the krogan replied, "Don't shut it off. Boost it!"

"Are you insane? It's already put the maw into a frenzy!"

"Just do it!"

"Crazy-ass krogan!" Garrus muttered, but he tapped the omni and set the device into overdrive.

* * *

Wrex watched the thresher maw stiffen, and then begin to flail, its mouth open in an agonized scream.

Certain sounds hurt maws, drove them into a blind frenzy. But if you intensified the sound enough, the pain would become paralyzing. For a little while, anyway.

Long enough for Wrex to deal with it. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, old friend," he murmured, closing his eyes and attuning the Rhythm of Mourning. "I swore I wouldn't use you again. Guess that's another vow I've broken."

Urdnot Wrex held out his hand and counted the heartbeats.

* * *

Garrus peered out from behind the Mako, watching the maw writhe in agony. And watching Wrex just stand there.

"Spirits, what is he _doing_?" Garrus muttered.

A moment later, he got his answer.

A sword materialized in Wrex's outstretched hand, condensation beading along the edge. The sword was massive, nearly as tall as Wrex himself, and made of a shimmering silvery metal. The blade didn't have a point, but rather a large hook-like spike at the end.

Garrus's jaw dropped open. He knew what the weapon was, of course. Every turian who'd had any sort of formal education could recognize a Shardblade. He also knew that Wrex shouldn't have had one. After the Krogan Rebellions had been quelled, the Hierarchy had gone to great lengths to track down and confiscate every last one of the weapons.

And for good reason.

With a roar, Wrex charged at the thresher maw, just as it began to shake off the paralysis. It was too late to do the beast any good. Wrex's blade passed through the maw's flesh like it wasn't even there, the blade's outline fuzzing slightly as it did. Where it passed, the flesh went grey and lifeless, and the creature screamed in pain.

Wrex struck again, this time slicing through one of the thresher's scythe-like front limbs. The appendage went grey and limp, and Wrex kept going, hacking away at the thresher maw as it howled.

Finally, one of Wrex's blows sliced through the spine, and the thresher maw slumped over, smoke trailing from its head as its eyes blackened and burned in their sockets. Wrex stepped back from the corpse, barely looking at the thing that should've taken heavy artillery to bring down. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the blade in his hands.

"—ello? Commander? Does anyone read?" a voice cut through Garrus's awe, as the jamming finally ended.

"We read you, Normandy," Alenko answered. "We're going to need an evac…and another Mako."

* * *

Chakwas looked over the results of the scan.

"Physically, you're fine," she told Vin, "But emotionally and mentally is another matter entirely."

"Thanks, doctor obvious," Vin said. Chakwas 'tsk'-ed at her.

"None of that, Shepard. You need to take this seriously."

"I am taking it seriously!" Vin snapped. "Excuse me for being a little off-kilter about being reminded of fucking _Akuze_. Or am I supposed to just shrug off a damn PTSD flashback?" she asked, voice rising until she was close to shouting.

"Shepard, that's not what I'm saying," Chakwas said. Vin sighed.

"I know, Doc."

"You should probably get in touch with your therapist, Shepard," Chakwas said, brushing off Vin's outburst as though it'd never happened. Vin nodded. "And you're not in danger of running out of your anti-anxiety medication?" Vin shook her head. "Then it appears we're done here. Just get some rest, Shepard, before you go charging into any more dangerous situations."

"I'll just call Saren and the geth, and see if they'll give us a breather, then?" Vin asked as she stood.

* * *

In her quarters, Vin typed up a quick message for Udina, Anderson, and Kahoku and sent it off with the highest priority flags she was allowed to use. And once that was done, she collapsed onto her bed, her entire body shaking. Without a conscious decision, her right hand went to her left shoulder, tracing the designs through her clothes.

Forty-nine names etched into her skin and her memory.

"Jameson, Aris, Layne, Toombs…" Vin murmured, reciting the names like a litany as she ran her fingers over them. She didn't even need to see them anymore. She'd done this so often that she could repeat them in order from memory.

* * *

Vin was on her fifth repetition when someone knocked on the door, bringing her back to the here and now.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Commander," T'Soni's voice replied. "May I come in?"

"Sure," Vin said, "door's unlocked."

The door hissed open and Liara stepped in, the door closing behind her a second later.

"So what's up, T'Soni? Found anything on this Conduit?"

"Perhaps. I'll need to double check some of my translations. Actually, I wanted to ask you about the Beacon," she said hopefully.

"The Beacon?" Vin frowned. "Not sure how much I can tell you. It was big, it glowed, it lifted me up and hit my brain with something that knocked me out for about a day and gave me weird dreams."

"Yes, but what were the dreams _about_?" Liara asked eagerly, leaning closer to her.

"Battle. War. It was all too chaotic for me to get anything concrete. There were machines of some sort, things that didn't look like anything I've ever seen or heard of…" Vin said, then paused as another memory surfaced. "Wait, there was one other thing; a sound."

"Speech?" Liara asked, her eyes widening, "Did you actually hear a Prothean speak?"

"No, nothing like that. It was a horn, like a massive foghorn or something, so huge that it made the ground shake. I could feel it too, feel the vibrations in my bones."

Liara's shoulders slumped. "That's it?"

"Sorry," Vin said.

"No, no, it's alright," she replied. "But I might have a way to help you get another look at whatever was in the Beacon…how much do you know about Asari physiology?"

"Not much," Vin admitted, "I was always more interested in history and politics, to be honest. I mean, I know about the whole monogendered thing, but that's it."

"Yes, well…Asari reproduction is rather different from that of other species. We can mate with any sentient species and reproduce, but there is no…physical act of fertilization," Liara explained, her cheeks darkening slightly. "Instead, it is a form of parthenogenesis, where the 'mother' uses genetic data from the 'father' to randomize the offspring's genetic code."

"Oh…kaaay," Vin said, completely at a loss for where T'Soni was going with this. "But what does that have to do with the Beacon?"

"Part of the mating process is known as 'melding'. During this, an Asari attunes herself to her partner. At first, it was believed that we simply linked nervous systems, but the truth is that melding briefly merges an Asari's Cognitive aspect with that of her partner. This allows us, if done properly, to share information and memories."

Vin's eyebrows shot up. "And you think you could use this melding to see whatever the Beacon left in my head?"

"Yes!"

"Great!" Vin exclaimed, then paused as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, you said this was part of how Asari reproduce. You don't…"

"No! No no no!" Liara said, waving her hands frantically in front of her face as she flushed even darker. "Melding is a part of our reproductive process, but it's also a completely distinct act."

"Oh, good," Vin said, her own face heating up. "What do you need me to do?"

Liara pulled her chair closer to the edge of the bed.

"Simply relax," Liara said, leaning forward and placing her hands on the sides of Vin's head, her thumbs on Vin's temples. Liara took a deep breath, her eyes drifting shut for a moment. When she reopened them, they were black from corner to corner. "Now, empty your mind…and embrace eternity!"


End file.
